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When musician Tyler Armes first heard Post Malone’s “Circles” in 2019, he claims he immediately texted Dre London, Malone’s manager. In the texts, Armes claimed he had been in the studio on the August 2018 night the song had come together – and that he believed he had played a key role in creating it.
“I was not just someone hanging out in the room,” Armes texted, according to later legal documents. “I was part of the writing process. The entire song (minus the lyrics other than ‘circles’) was laid down that night with the 3 of us in the room together, working together.” A few days later, London allegedly responded: “Just showed Posty the message. He said he remembers. U played a tune on the bass then he played more of it after.”
“Circles” later became a smash hit. The song, “backed by sunny acoustic guitars, swirling percussion and infectious melodies,” reached the top spot on the Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks in November 2019 before ultimately spending 61 weeks on the chart.
But now, four years after those texts, Armes and Malone are headed to a Los Angeles federal courthouse this week for a closely-watched jury trial over that fateful night. Expected to feature testimony from the star himself, the trial will pose tricky questions to jurors – about who’s technically in charge during a studio jam session, and who exactly gets the resulting songwriting credits.
Lawyers for Armes say he clearly did enough to own part of the copyright to “Circles,” and that Malone’s “bad faith refusal” to grant him credit has severely harmed his music career. Malone’s lawyers, meanwhile, say the allegations are “utterly baseless” – and that Armes is just the latest plaintiff to “come out of the woodwork” seeking an “unearned windfall” from a hit song.
“Significant Contributions”
Armes, best known as a member of the Canadian rap rock band Down With Webster, filed his lawsuit in April 2020, seeking a ruling that he was the rightful co-creator of “Circles.” In addition to naming Malone (Austin Richard Post) as a defendant, the lawsuit also named “Circles” collaborator Frank Dukes and Universal Music Group.
In his complaint, Armes claimed he had gone to the studio that night at the urging of Malone’s people, and that Malone at one point had said explicitly: “Let’s write a tune!”
“From approximately 2:00 a.m. on August 8, 2018 until 9:00 a.m. that morning, Armes, Post and Dukes worked together in the studio,” his lawyers wrote in their complaint. “Armes and Dukes co-wrote the chords for the song on the keyboard, and Armes co-wrote and had significant input in the bassline for the song. Armes also had input on the guitar parts in the song, including co-writing the guitar melody which is played in the introduction to the song and which repeats throughout the song.”
After the song was released and Armes reached out, he says Malone offered to give him a 5 percent share of the publishing royalties. But when he tried to negotiate for a better deal, he says the star’s people revoked the offer and refused to give him anything.
“Defendants’ refusal to credit Armes … has resulted in significant harm to Armes’ reputation, career and cost him a host of opportunities,” his lawyer wrote. “Songwriters and composers work their entire lives to create a commercially successful and critically acclaimed song like [‘Circles’].”
Read Armes’ entire complaint here.
“Unearned Windfall”
On the same day that Armes filed his lawsuit, Malone sued him right back – asking a federal judge for a ruling that Armes “did not write or author any portion of the ‘Circles’ composition, and he is not entitled to any of the revenue from the ‘Circles’ composition.”
Malone’s lawyers admitted that Armes had been in the room that night, but said he had not made any serious contributions to the song. And they pointed out that the star and other writers then held subsequent sessions in which they continued to work on the song without Armes present.
“It is an age-old story in the music business that when a song earns the type of runaway success that ‘Circles’ has garnered, an individual will come out of the woodwork falsely claim to take credit for the song, and demand unwarranted and unearned windfall profits from the song,” Malone’s lawyers wrote. “This lawsuit arises from such a story.”
In later motions seeking to end the case without a trial, Malone’s attorneys argued more specifically about the “fatal flaws” in Armes’ allegations. They said his contributions to the song were merely commonplace musical building blocks like chord progressions, meaning they were not sufficiently “original” to be protected by copyright law. And they said that he had not exercised enough “control” over the studio session to count as a co-author.
“Armes admitted he had no control over whether any of his creative suggestions would be incorporated by Post and Dukes into the ‘Circles’ composition,” Malone’s lawyers wrote. “Armes’s contention that because he was present for one early session while Dukes and Post were creating the ‘Circles’ composition … and because he played some instruments there and offered some verbal musical suggestions, he is entitled to joint authorship, is simply incorrect under governing law.”
Read Malone’s entire argument here.
“Shared Equal Control”
Those arguments didn’t sway the judge. In April 2022, U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright declined to end the case and instead sent it to trial, ruling that Armes might ultimately be able to persuade a jury that he deserved to own a piece of “Circles.”
As for the originality of Armes’s creative contributions, the judge said a jury might look beyond simple individual elements and instead analyze the song more broadly: “A reasonable juror could conclude that all three collaborators took part in these decisions and that the combination of these decisions created something that is not stock or commonplace, despite the fact that it may contain stock or otherwise uncopyrightable building blocks.”
And, just as importantly, the judge said it was unclear whether Malone and Dukes had sole control over what had been included in the song.
“While Dukes may have controlled the laptop, nothing suggests that he or Post possessed any special veto or decision-making power that Armes did not,” Judge Wright wrote in his ruling. “Armes’s evidence, if credited, supports the finding that the three musicians shared equal control in the session, making nonhierarchical contributions to a unitary whole.”
Read Judge Wright’s entire decision here.
“Make Swiss Cheese of Copyrights”
Ahead of the upcoming trial, Malone’s attorneys have sharply disputed one unusual aspect of Judge Wright’s ruling last year.
In the decision, the judge said the upcoming trial would technically only deal with the ownership of an unfinished “session” song created that August night, and not with the final “commercial” version of “Circles.” But he stressed that a verdict for Armes would still entitle him to substantial royalties from the hit song, since the final version was based on that earlier jam session tune.
A month later, Malone’s lawyers argued that Judge Wright’s approach was simply not how the creation of a copyrighted work is supposed to be analyzed. A final song is a final song, they said, and any earlier versions are merely part of the artistic process – not their own copyrighted creations.
“Splintering a single, final integrated work into many different ‘works’ at its various stages of creation would impermissibly make Swiss cheese of copyrights,” Malone’s lawyers wrote, quoting from a legal precedent that used that analogy. “Characterizing a single musical composition as derivative of its successive writing sessions preceding its final form raises the specter of an endless series of derivative works within one song.”
Lawyers for Armes argued back that the judge’s approach was just fine, and Judge Wright later brushed aside such critiques. But the “Swiss cheese” issue could very well arise again in the courthouse during this week’s trial – and, if Malone loses, will almost certainly serve as a key avenue for him to challenge the verdict at a federal appeals court.
The Courtroom Fight Ahead
The trial, taking place at the U.S. federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, will kick off with jury selection on Tuesday morning. It’s expected to run for four days, meaning we could expect a verdict on Friday or early next week.
Though a witness list hasn’t been published, it will likely include Armes, London, Dukes and various others involved in the events of the case, who will testify about what they recall about the session and the days surrounding it. Both sides will also call expert witnesses to testify about complicated technical questions about music and industry practices.
Malone himself will also be there. Back in August, during back-and-forth over potential trial dates, his lawyers confirmed that star will take the witness stand to help defeat Armes’ allegations: “He fully intends to appear to refute plaintiff’s claims.”
The star will be represented by David A. Steinberg, Gabriella N. Ismaj, Christine Lepera and Jeffrey M. Movit of the law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, an elite music litigation team whose members have defended Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, Jay-Z and other stars in similar cases.
Armes will be repped by Allison S. Hart and Kelsey J. Leeker from the law firm Lavely & Singer, a well-known Hollywood litigation boutique that has represented a slew of A-listers in defamation cases, contract disputes and other legal battles.
Three men were found guilty Monday of the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000.
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Michael Boatwright, 28, Dedrick Williams, 26, and Trayvon Newsome, 24, were all found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery by a jury that deliberated a little more than seven days. They will receive mandatory life sentences at a later date.
The defendants showed little emotion as each stood and was handcuffed by a bailiff.
During the monthlong trial, prosecutors linked the men to the June 18, 2018, shooting outside Riva Motorsports in suburban Fort Lauderdale through extensive surveillance video taken inside and outside the store, plus cellphone videos they took that showed them flashing fistfuls of $100 bills hours after the slaying.
Prosecutors also had the testimony of a fourth man, Robert Allen, a former friend of the defendants who said he participated in the robbery. He pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder. He has not been sentenced pending the conclusion of this trial. He could get anywhere between time served, meaning he could soon be released, and life, depending partly on how prosecutors perceive his assistance.
Defense attorneys accused Allen of being a liar motivated by avoiding a life sentence. They also said prosecutors and detectives did a poor investigation that didn’t look at other possible suspects, including the Canadian rap star Drake; he and XXXTentacion had an online feud.
Twice this week, the jury asked to review text messages from Boatwright, whom prosecutors identified as the shooter, from the day of the shooting. A printout from prosecutors shows that from the time he woke up about 10:30 a.m. until 3 p.m., about an hour before the shooting, he sent 17 to various people, including one about getting a car. Prosecutors say the SUV used in the shooting was rented from a woman through a phone app. He then stopped texting for about two hours.
About an hour after the shooting, he sent a text saying, “Tell my brother I got the money for the new phone.” Minutes after that, he sent someone a screenshot of a news story saying XXXTentacion had been shot.
XXXTentacion, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, had just left Riva Motorsports with a friend when his BMW was blocked by an SUV that swerved in front.
Surveillance video showed two masked gunmen emerging and confronting the 20-year-old singer at the driver’s window, and one shot him repeatedly. They then grabbed a Louis Vuitton bag containing cash XXXTentacion had just withdrawn from the bank, got back into the SUV and sped away. The friend was not harmed.
Newsome was accused of being the other gunman. Williams was accused of being the driver of the SUV, with Allen also inside.
Allen testified that the men set out that day to commit robberies and went to the motorcycle shop to buy Williams a mask. There they spotted the rapper and decided to make him their target. Allen and Williams went inside the shop to confirm it was him. They then went back to the SUV they had rented, waited for XXXTentacion to emerge and ambushed him, according to testimony.
The rapper, who pronounced his name “Ex ex ex ten-ta-see-YAWN,” was a platinum-selling rising star who tackled issues including prejudice and depression in his songs. He also drew criticism over bad behavior and multiple arrests, including charges that he severely beat and abused his girlfriend.
Associated Press reporter Terry Spencer contributed to this report.
It’s telling that one of the most emotional moments during the Country Radio Seminar came when Darius Rucker and Brad Paisley led a large cast of artists in a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain” at the close of the Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) showcase at the Ryman Auditorium on March 14.
Just the day before, Garth Brooks had addressed the divisiveness in modern America and encouraged country broadcasters to use their place at the microphone to bring people together: “Unify. Find common ground. Amplify our similarities instead of our differences.”
In “Purple Rain,” the assemblage demonstrated what that looked like, bridging genres and backgrounds to deliver a song that obliquely embraces connection as the world comes to an end. The arrangement included fiddle and Dobro, a significant cross-format augmentation of a song with anthemic pop/rock qualities. Rucker and Dalton Dover brought Black voices to the performance, notable in a genre that went decades with Charley Pride as its lone African American star. And covering Prince meant that Paisley — who had performed a dark track about opioid addiction less than a half-hour before — was now playing an extended guitar solo on a tune originated by a man who had died of an opioid overdose.
Just as important was the mass of people onstage: Vince Gill, Tyler Hubbard, Parker McCollum, Kassi Ashton, Sam Hunt and Catie Offerman were among those lined up behind the lead voices. And while most of the nation has regained some level of normalcy after the pandemic, every sign of people feeling safe to get together remains heartening.
A year ago, CRS attendees were chided for slow-moving charts and a lack of individuality. The format hasn’t changed significantly since then, though a committee is working to resolve those issues.
Meanwhile, 2023’s three-day conference, based at the Omni Nashville Hotel, found programmers in seemingly better spirits. Some 57% of country listeners believe the music is better than it was just a few years ago, according to a NuVoodoo study. Even 52% of consumers who have been country fans for over 10 years — the kind of listener most likely to complain that current music pales in comparison with the good old days — say the new music is better. Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs, in a “Fred Talk” titled “The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be,” also noted that 62% of respondents in a 2023 survey cited their appreciation of the on-air talent as a motivating factor for listening to AM/FM. That exceeds the 55% of respondents who cited the music as a contributing factor to their radio consumption.
Stations would be wise, Jacobs suggested, to develop on-air talent that successfully connects with the audience.
As technology becomes ever more dominant in daily life, it appears that interactions with people have greater value. Syndicated Audacy personality Josh “Bru” Brubaker, a Los Angeles-based 26-year-old whose radio background and TikTok skills have built a following in the millions, said in an “Okay Boomer” panel that simply being real goes a long way.
“Vulnerability and relatability has never been more important to our audiences, especially in Gen Z,” he said. “That’s something that we’ve been doing in radio ever since it’s been around, so play on our strengths. I think we overthink a lot of things. But those core things are what Gen Z is looking for. And we can use that to reinvigorate our audiences.”
That word “reinvigorate” is important, given that time spent listening to radio has dropped since the advent of streaming services. Brubaker recalled meeting a young fan who asked him, “What is radio?”
The medium, once dominant in American entertainment, faces a crowded field that includes audio and video streaming, satellite radio and broadcast and cable TV, plus streaming TV services and online games. The future will only grow more complicated.
Automobiles, where radio once dominated, are undergoing significant change. Jacobs showed images of pillar-to-pillar dashboards that manufacturers are designing with more in-car options than ever. FM radio, he noted, will need to up its visual game — taking advantage of logos and other graphic opportunities — to remain appealing to commuters. But AM radio faces a much bleaker future with the accelerating shift toward electric vehicles. The engines create interference problems, and AM is increasingly being booted from car interiors. Jacobs cited Ford specifically, though news site Axios indicated in a March 13 story that eight automakers — including BMW, Mazda, Tesla and Volkswagen — have dropped AM radio from their electric cars.
“After hanging around with automakers for the past 15 years, I don’t think they give a shit,” said Jacobs. “I think they’re going to make whatever they’re going to make, and AM radio is not a part of the future for them.”
One other change that could create structural issues for broadcasters is the adaptation of subscriptions. Detroit is toying with recurring payments, Jacobs said, that would bill owners monthly for heated seats, map updates or driving assistants. And he believes over-the-air radio could become yet another optional service rather than a standard feature.
Country’s future, as always, was on display at CRS. Mackenzie Carpenter infused ultra-Southern phrasing in the hooky “Don’t Mess With Exes” during the Big Machine showcase. Avery Anna fielded a tuneful kiss-off with “Narcissist” on Warner Music Nashville’s lunchtime stage, and Offerman applied a warm, intimate voice to the confessional “I Killed a Man” at the UMGN show.
Programmers were encouraged repeatedly during CRS panels to take risks and “think outside the box.” Much of the industry, it appears, is of a mind to simply make the box larger. The genre’s widening cultural representation and increasing blend of music styles suggest that country and its real-world stories have the potential to fulfill Brooks’ challenge, to become a unifying voice.
Whether that potential is fully realized is a question that can only be answered in that uncertain future.
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Warner Chappell Music (WCM) and Limited Edition Music have teamed up for a new publishing partnership, with a mission to sign and develop emerging songwriters in a range of genres.
Emmyn Calleiro, singer and songwriter with Fueled by Ramen / DCD2 Record-signed pop-punk band Games We Play, along with rising country artist Bailey Callahan, are the first signings through the new alliance — Limited Edition Music.
Greg Sowders, WCM’s senior vp of A&R and catalog will continue in his current position while also leading Limited Edition Music, which will sign acts in the alternative, rock, pop and alternative country spaces. Sowders is joined in the leadership role by former WCM A&R executive Marc Wilson.
“Greg has been a key fixture at Warner Chappell for more than three decades and has dedicated his career to building out a star-studded alternative and rock roster,” comments Guy Moot, WCM co-chair and CEO. “This is the perfect opportunity for him to continue to lead those efforts while also working with more emerging writers alongside Marc.”
During his time with the major music publisher, Sowders has signed and worked with such artists and writers as Twenty One Pilots, Greta Van Fleet, Travis Barker, Paramore, Tyler Childers, Billy Corgan, Portugal. The Man, Deftones, All Time Low, Orville Peck and Nickelback, and others.
His career in music began in 1981 on the other side of the table, as the drummer for Los Angeles alternative country pioneers The Long Ryders, with whom he continues to perform.
Wilson, meanwhile, boasts almost 20 years’ experience developing songwriters and artists. During his stint with WCM, he worked with the likes of Lizzo, Steve Aoki, Ian Kirkpatrick, Sean Douglas, Sam DeRosa, Alec Benjamin and others. In 2020, he launched United Songs Entertainment, which exclusively manages songwriters and producers, and currently represents Cate Downey and Zoë Moss.
Adds Ryan Press, WCM president of North America: “Greg is one of the best creatives in the business and serves as a true partner to his songwriters. I’m super proud to be able to support him and Marc, who I’ve also worked with for a long time, and continue to nurture the next generation of hitmakers together.”
The partnership, announced today, closely follows a SXSW discussion on the future of music publishing and the new songwriter economy, entitled “Music Publishing in the New Songwriter Economy.” The session featured Moot and Billboard editorial director Hannah Karp as guest speakers.
LONDON — Facebook parent Meta and Italy’s largest collecting society are locked in a dispute over the use of songs on the platform from thousands of songwriters and composers, with music rights groups accusing the tech company of using strong-arm tactics to try to get its way.
Meta has started to remove all licensed works from the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers (SIAE). The company has “been unable to renew” its partnership agreement with SIAE and will therefore “no longer make available SIAE licensed works in Meta’s music library,” a spokesperson for Meta confirms to Billboard. The number of SIAE licensed music works that are affected by Meta’s actions is around 5.7 million works, according to SIAE.
The withdrawal means that any content-containing songs managed by SIAE, except those obtained through sub-licensing, will be blocked on Facebook, including Facebook Reels and Facebook Stories. On Instagram, content using SIAE members’ repertoire will be muted, unless users choose to replace the banned audio with another piece of music, Meta says.
The move affects repertoire from all European countries and multiple markets outside the European Union, but does not include the United States, an SIAE spokesperson tells Billboard.
Based in Rome, SIAE is the world’s sixth-largest copyright collective management organization, according to the International Confederation of Authors and Composers Societies’ (CISAC), representing the rights of around 5.7 million Italian music works and around 95,000 members. The organization has agreements in place with 178 authors’ societies worldwide and administers public performance and other rights of 62 million Italian and international works, spanning music, cinema, literature and other areas.
Notable music artists it represents include composer Ennio Morricone, singer Zucchero and hard rockers Mäneskin. “It is important to notice,” a rep for SIAE said, “that in the midst of the removal process many other works from the international catalog and from international authors, thus not related in any way with SIAE, have been erroneously removed.”
Meta’s music-licensing agreement with the Italian society expired at the end of December. During negotiations for a new deal, Meta offered a lump-sum value without providing the necessary information for SIAE to evaluate whether it was fair compensation for rights holders, the SIAE spokesperson says.
The Italian organization also claims the tech company refused to share data about how its members’ repertoire was being used and monetized, citing internal policies. “When it comes to complex platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and their many services (posts, stories, reels), if we’re not given any clue about the amount of advertising, video and music that they host, it means we’re negotiating blindly,” Matteo Fedeli, the CEO of SIAE, tells Billboard.
Fedeli says Meta threatened to remove all music works managed by SIAE if the offer was not accepted. “Meta gave a take-it-or-leave-it final offer when our positions were still pretty far from each other,” he says. “That’s imposing, not negotiating.”
The refusal to share relevant information, says SIAE, places Meta in contravention of the European Copyright Directive approved by the European Union in 2019, which requires platforms that rely on user-generated content — such as YouTube, TikTok or Facebook — to obtain “fair remuneration” license deals with rights holders and provide them with transparent reporting on revenues generated from the use of their work.
Meta responds that it has successfully renewed music licenses with many of its largest partners throughout Europe — including the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, France and Sweden — based on the same fee model and terms it offered SIAE.
“Protecting the copyrights of songwriters and artists is a top priority,” a spokesperson for Meta says in a statement. “We continue to have music deals in more than 150 countries and remain committed to reaching an agreement with SIAE that works for everyone.”
Meta’s fallout with SIAE comes after the company announced on March 14 it would trim 10,000 jobs and would not be filling 5,000 open positions as part of cost-saving measures. In November, the company announced 11,000 job cuts, representing about 13% of its overall workforce.
On Friday, music rights and publishing trade bodies slammed Meta for its decision to pull SIAE repertoire from its platforms.
“Meta has decided to use its position as a corporate mega power to hold artists at gunpoint and undervalue their hard work and creativity,” the Brussels-based Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF) says in a statement. “Fair and honest negotiation is the only way forward. Meta needs to retract.”
John Phelan, director general of ICMP, an international music publishing trade association, criticizes Meta for “using unsurprising strong-arm tactics of demanding a ‘take it or leave it’ fee and when not happy, removing music to try and devalue the deal.”
The tech company, Phelan says in a statement, “must obey the law and take a full and fair license for the music it wants to use and profit from. If it does not, it is in breach of Italian and EU law.”
Fedeli says the music industry “understands that there is a problem with [the] value gap and that the excessive power of [tech] platforms allow them to pursue such unilateral actions.” He is, nevertheless, keen to resume negotiations.
“We want to reach an agreement in good faith that is satisfying for both parties,” he says. “We know that we’re not aiming for the moon. We’re asking for a perfectly reasonable figure.”
Additional Reporting By Federico Durante Of Billboard Italy
Only four of the 20 stocks in Billboard’s Global Music Index were in positive territory this week: Spotify climbed 4.5% to $127.09, Tencent Music Entertainment rose 4.4% to $7.85, Warner Music Group increased 1.5% to $30.21 and Reservoir Media improved 0.2% to $6.15.
Stock markets were rattled again this week by problems in the banking sector. Following a run at Silicon Valley Bank last week, Signature Bank and First Republic faltered this week. Credit Suisse required the backing of the Swiss National Bank on Wednesday after its biggest shareholder refused to inject money to provide much-needed stability. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% this week after dropping 1.2% on Friday (March 17). The S&P 500 improved 1.4% on the week despite falling 1.1% on Friday.
The Global Music Index declined just 0.4% to 1,188.02 despite most stocks falling into negative territory. Spotify and Warner Music Group are two of the most valuable companies in the index. Other large companies had only small declines: Universal Music Group dropped 1.7% to 21.38 euros, SiriusXM fell 0.8% to $3.64 and Live Nation declined 0.4% to $66.36.
The biggest loser of the week was K-pop company SM Entertainment, which fell 23.5% to 113,000 won after HYBE canceled its bid to take control of the company. Last week, SM Entertainment was the Global Music Index’s biggest gainer, improving 14.4% to 147,800 won, after Kakao announced a tender offer to acquire up to a 35% stake from minority shareholders at 150,000 won per share.
The soft advertising market continued to be a problem for radio companies’ stocks. iHeartMedia dropped 12% to $4.31 and Audacy fell 12.5% to $0.14. Morgan Stanley analysts cut the price target for iHeartMedia to $5 from $8 due to “concerns regarding the long-term growth potential of broadcast radio,” according to a March 16 investor note. Year to date, iHeartMedia is down 29.7%, Cumulus Media is off 35.9% and Audacy has declined 39.1%.
Two musicians who sued The Weeknd for allegedly stealing key elements of his “Call Out My Name” say they’ve reached a settlement with the superstar to end the lawsuit.
The case, filed by Suniel Fox and Henry Strange (real names Neil Fox Parakh and Shyhi Henry Hsaio), claimed that The Weeknd’s 2018 hit copied the lead guitar and vocal hooks from their 2017 song called “Vibeking.”
But in a filing Friday (March 17) in Los Angeles federal court, lawyers for Fox and Strange said they had “reached a settlement in principle of this action.” Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and the notice said the two camps were “still in the process of formalizing, executing, and consummating” the deal.
Representatives and an attorney for The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) did not immediately return a request for comment on the purported deal.
“Call Out My Name,” off The Weeknd’s the 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy, debuted at No. 4 on the Hot 100. The track, featuring the “menacing themes fans came accustomed to earlier in his career,” eventually spent 18 weeks on the chart.
Fox and Strange, who claim to have worked previously with Drake, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, filed their copyright infringement lawsuit in September 2021, claiming that The Weeknd and co-writer Frank Dukes had stolen the “atmospheric and melancholic sound” of their earlier song.
“’Vibeking’ and ‘Call Out My Name’ contain quantitatively and qualitatively similar material in their respective lead guitar and vocal hooks, including melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements distinctive to ‘Vibeking’,” attorneys for the two producers wrote.
Unlike many copyright accusers, Fox and Strange claimed to have solid evidence that The Weeknd actually listened to their song — an important factor in any copyright lawsuit. They cited alleged emails in which they sent the track to The Weeknd’s playback engineer, who allegedly replied: “I sent [The Weeknd] that track u made a while ago. He listened and liked it. But nothing ever happened.”
In a later email cited by the accusers, the same engineer then told them: “Just gonna tell [The Weeknd] that our production team wrote the track. Cool? Or u have another idea? Just don’t wanna say ‘hey, [Strange] wrote this’ when he doesn’t know u.”
The Weeknd denied all of the allegations, but the litigation never progressed to the point that he had a chance to make in-depth arguments about the merits of the case.
In the last 25 years, the music industry has evolved in huge leaps: the arrival of Napster in 1999, the launch of the iTunes music store in 2003 and YouTube’s debut in 2005 are notable, epoch-defining events. But progress often comes in a series of small steps forward.
One such small step is Spotify’s Loud & Clear, an annual report that provides some transparency into the amounts of royalties the company pays each year. The third Loud & Clear report was released March 8 to coincide with Stream On, Spotify’s live-streamed media event where a parade of executives introduced new product features and discussed the future of the world’s largest music subscription service.
Loud & Clear is helpful because it puts artist royalties in context. Any artist knows how much they earned on a streaming platform. But Loud & Clear will tell an artist how they stack up to others. It’s one thing to make $100,000 in annual royalties but another thing to know how many other artists are also making at least $100,000.
“I think it’s very important for ecosystems to have an understanding of the shape and size of how results are going for different participants so that people can understand where they are, where they stand and how the ecosystem is evolving,” says Charlie Hellman, Spotify vp, global head of music product.
And how well is the ecosystem evolving? Spotify wants to give “a million creators the opportunity” to making a living from their art — which could include both musicians and podcasters. That goal goes back to a statement by CEO Daniel Ek at its 2017 Investor Day. At the time, Spotify counted 22,000 artists as “top-tier” earners (it didn’t specify exactly how much they earned, however). Today, thanks to Loud & Clear, we can see a million creators are probably not making a living from their art. But as Spotify, and streaming in general, has grown in popularity, the number of artists making a sustainable amount — define that as you may — is slowly increasing.
There are 27,000 established artists defined as being in Spotify’s top 50,000 artists three straight years but outside of the top 500. In 2022, they earned an average of $224,000 from Spotify and averaged 1.45 million monthly listeners in 2022. So, they’re not superstars but they’re far from hobbyists. They’re also likely signed to record labels and receive only a fraction of those royalties.
In 2022, there were nearly 3,000 “catalog-heavy” artists that earned more than $100,000 on Spotify. Those artists earned over 80% of their streams from tracks five years old or older. Given that Spotify estimates other streaming sources account for 75% of an artists’ revenue, those artists probably earn around $400,000 a year in streaming royalties.
If streaming is going to provide a living for many musicians, the economics need to work for the independent musicians that make up a large portion of the working class. In 2022, a quarter of the 57,000 artists who earned $10,000 or more in royalties from Spotify in 2022 are self-distributed through the likes of DistroKid, TuneCore and CD Baby. That works out to nearly 15,000 artists, a 200% increase since 2017. That’s a far cry from one million. But as streaming platforms continue to grow, the number of self-distributed artists earning that amount will grow, too.
Increasingly, streaming platforms will facilitate other parts of artists’ careers, such as ticket sales and merchandise sales. Spotify lists some merchandise sales through third-party providers such as Shoptify and Merchbar. And although it hasn’t included merch sales in Loud & Clear, Hellman says, “I can imagine in future years doing more data share about that in particular. We didn’t do that this year, but it is a big strategic focus for us.”
Jonas Wikström was promoted to managing director of the Nordics at Universal Music Publishing Scandinavia, succeeding Martin Ingeström, who will remain with the company as chairman of UMP Nordics until his retirement in June. Reporting to UMPG COO Marc Cimino, Wikström is responsible for UMPG’s creative and business operations in the Nordics; he was most recently executive vp of A&R/creative.
Veronica Sanjines was named general manager at Arista Records. The New York-based executive will report to Arista president/CEO David Massey as she oversees general operations for the label and collaborates with the entire roster. She was most recently vp of marketing at Warner Records.
Arica Ng was named president of Asia Pacific at Warner Chappell Music. She joins the company from Meta, where she served as head of music business development in the Asia Pacific.
FUGA appointed Dorothée Imhoff as chief commercial officer, Liz Northeast as senior vp of EMEA and Sven Zeevalk as global head of operations. Meanwhile, former chief commercial officer David Driessen will move to the new position as chief business officer of FUGA’s parent company, Downtown Music, while Darren Owen has been promoted to COO at FUGA. Imhoff has been with FUGA since 2014 when he joined as a business development consultant. Northeast, who was previously FUGA’s GM, U.K., will be responsible for the company’s commercial strategy and business within the wider U.K. and EMEA markets. Zeevalk, who was previously regional head of operations at FUGA, will be responsible for the company’s global operations, including overseeing the regional heads of APAC, EMEA and Americas as well as all client integrations and the global support team. He’s been with FUGA since 2017 when he joined as content manager. Erica De Marchi will take on the role of regional head of operations following Zeevalk’s promotion.
John Coletta was promoted to senior vp & managing director of international at BMI; he was previously vp of international legal & business affairs. Based in New York, Coletta will report to BMI executive vp of licensing & creative Mike Steinberg while overseeing the company’s international department, working closely with foreign performing rights societies to improve business practices and identify growth opportunities. He will additionally work to modernize BMI’s reciprocal agreements and oversee global copyright initiatives. He succeeds BMI vp of international society relations Karen Buse in the role; Buse helped manage the international team on a temporary basis.
Songwriter-producer Bloodpop founded and launched game development studio Genpop Interactive alongside former DeNA and BANDAI NAMCO executive Aubrey Tennant; he will serve as CEO and game director. The studio’s focus is on “building original AAA games that will drive forward the next-gen of music, fashion and gaming culture,” with its first project described as “an ambitious third person shooter with novel movement and combat mechanics.” The company recently raised $6.5 million in seed funding. In a statement, Bloodpop said: “At a time when low risk tolerance among established studios has resulted in predictable re-releases capitalizing on millennial nostalgia, Gen-Z is eager for new IP that speaks to them, and has a long legacy that defines their generation. Major studios have become complacent, relying on giving the Weekend at Bernie’s treatment to their old IP with their publicly traded necromancy. We aren’t just on a mission to create the next great game, but nurture the next generation of popular culture.”
300 Entertainment promoted three executives: Ryan MacTaggart to senior vp of artist development & lifestyle marketing, Gary “Bolo” Sargeant to vp of urban & rhythm promotion and Michael McArthur to vp of A&R. MacTaggart will continue to focus on immersive marketing and artist development, Sargeant will lead promotion at the urban and rhythm formats and McArthur will sign and develop new talent. All three are based in New York.
Shawna Spears was named vp of brand marketing at Venice Music. Joining from TikTok, where she led artist and manager partnerships in hip-hop and R&B, Spears will build and lead the company’s brand marketing team, develop and execute the marketing roadmap across distribution channels and more. She reports to Venice Music executive vp and GM Fadia Kader and can be reached at shawna@venicemusic.co.
The American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) promoted Evan Plake to director of partnerships and Chirag Patel to associate of membership. Additionally, Greyson Zeng was hired as community manager and Nicolle Gutierrez Ospina was hired as executive assistant and accounts administrator. Plake oversees brand partnerships and creative collaborations across the organization’s membership, Patel will continue connecting and supporting indie labels and Zeng will help grow and curate A2IM’s digital and in-person community. Gutierrez Ospina joins from Gold Business Management. Plake can be reached at evan@a2im.org, Patel can be reached at chirag@a2im.org, Zeng can be reached at greyson@a2im.org and Gutierrez Ospina can be reached at nicolle@a2im.org.
Michelle Teh was named senior vp of global classics & jazz at Universal Music Group. She assumes the role after serving on UMG’s global priorities team.
Jesus Trivino is taking on an expanded role at TIDAL; he will continue to lead the company’s Latin team but will now also serve as head of TIDAL’s industry relations (for general market) team.
Vanessa Kanapin was named director of A&R for Germany, Switzerland and Austria at Ultra International Music Publishing. The Berlin-based executive will report to company founder/CEO Patrick Moxey. She joins Ultra from German independent publisher Budde Music, where she was A&R and song plugging manager. Kanapin can be reached at vanessa.kanapin@ultrapublishing.com.
Former Virgin EMI Records senior director Tony Barnes was announced as the co-founder of Karta, a metaverse studio established in 2021 that provides experiential marketing for musicians, brands and sports teams. He co-founded the company with CEO Erik Londré. “Since its launch, Karta has delivered successful projects across Roblox, Fortnite and Decentraland for the likes of Amazon Music, Fnatic, Unilever and Ronald McDonald House,” reads a press release, which notes the company also recently built a fan hub on Roblox for K-pop group TWICE. Barnes can be reached at tony@karta.game.
Jason Leiss was promoted to business manager at FBMM, where he will continue to lead a team of five and oversee all financial aspects for his clients in both business and personal finance.
More than a year after Cher sued Sonny Bono’s widow Mary Bono over royalties from “I Got You Babe” and other hits, a federal judge has issued an initial ruling refusing to dismiss the case.
Cher claims that her 1978 divorce deal with Sonny gave her a permanent 50% cut from songs written before they split, but that Mary recently stopped paying after she invoked copyright’s termination right. Mary’s attorneys say she was entitled to do so, and that the case should be dismissed.
In a split decision on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt trimmed part of the case, saying any royalties from recording rights regained by Mary should stop going to Cher. But when it comes to the bigger question of the underlying musical compositions, the judge said the divorce agreement might entitle Cher to keep receiving those payments.
“The composition royalties appear to arise solely from the [divorce settlement],” the judge wrote. “On this record, it has not presently been established that [Cher]’s rights to the composition royalties have been terminated.”
In a statement to Billboard following the ruling, Mary’s attorney Daniel Schacht said: “We are happy that the court recognized some of the flaws in Cher’s case at this preliminary stage, and we look forward to resolving the remainder of the case.”
Cher’s attorney declined to comment on the decision.
Sonny and Cher started performing together in 1964 and married in 1967, rising to fame with major hits like “I Got You Babe,” “The Beat Goes On” and “Baby Don’t Go.” But the pair split up in 1974, finalizing their divorce with a settlement agreement in 1978. Under that deal, Sonny retained ownership of their music rights, but Cher was granted a half-share of all royalties.
Bono died in 1998 as the result of skiing accident, leaving Mary in control of those copyrights. And in 2016, she invoked the termination right — a provision of the federal Copyright Act that allows creators or their heirs to win back control of rights they signed away decades prior. Mary sent such notices to Sonny and Cher’s publishers, taking back full control of those copyrights.
Five years later, Cher filed her lawsuit — seeking a ruling the divorce agreement was still in effect and that she was still owed her 50% cut of royalties, regardless of who owns the copyrights now. Mary then fired back a few months later, arguing that the case should be dismissed. Her lawyers said that termination rights were designed to trump all pre-existing agreements, including a divorce agreement.
“Cher’s position would subvert Congress’ intent in enacting the copyright termination provisions: to ensure that authors and authors’ heirs, not grantees or ex-spouses, would benefit from the extended term of copyright,” Bono’s attorneys wrote in December 2021.
In Tuesday’s ruling, Judge Kronstadt denied that motion when it comes to the copyrights for Sonny’s underlying musical compositions, citing language in the divorce agreement that such royalties would be owed “from all sources perpetually.” Based on that language, the judge said the issue “cannot be resolved” until both sides have the chance to offer more evidence and arguments.
The judge did dismiss Cher’s lawsuit to the extent that it deals with royalties from any recording rights that had been terminated by Mary, since Judge Kronstadt said those provisions of the divorce agreement were tied to specific record deals that were no longer in existence. But the extent to which Mary’s termination notices actually went to record companies is unclear; earlier filings in the case only indicated that such notices has gone to publishers.
Read the entire decision here: