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LONDON — Security services could have prevented a suicide bomber from killing 22 people in a terror attack outside an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena in 2017 if they had acted swiftly on key intelligence, a public inquiry has found.
The chair of the inquiry, John Saunders, says there was a “realistic possibility” that the bomber could have been stopped from carrying out the atrocity if British security service MI5 had acted decisively upon on two pieces of intelligence that they received in the months leading up to the attack. The significance of that intelligence, Saunders notes, “was not fully appreciated at the time.”
A 207-page report, published Thursday (March 2), details the radicalization of bomber Salman Abedi but does not disclose details of either piece of intelligence, citing national security reasons. It does, however, state that neither piece of intelligence was shared by MI5 with counter-terror police — a failing that Saunders calls “a further example of a communication breakdown” between security agencies.
The inquiry found that an MI5 officer, identified as Witness C, failed to write a report on the second piece of intelligence on the same day MI5 assessed it and did not discuss it with colleagues. That delay “led to the missing of an opportunity to take a potentially important investigative action.”
Abedi flew from Libya to Manchester on May 18 — four days before he detonated a homemade explosive device in the foyer of Manchester Arena (now known as the AO Arena) at the end of Grande’s sold-out show. Twenty-two people died in the terror attack, the youngest aged 8 years old. Hundreds of people were injured, many of them children.
The report contends that had MI5 taken the intelligence more seriously Abedi could have been stopped at Manchester Airport upon his return from Libya and followed to his car where he had stored his explosives.
In a press conference in Manchester on Thursday, Saunders said the “failure by the security service to act swiftly enough” had contributed to a “significant missed opportunity to take action that might have prevented the attack.”
The inquiry chair went on to say that while “it is not possible to reach any conclusion on the balance of probability” as to whether the bombing would have been prevented, he believed “there was a realistic possibility that actionable intelligence could have been obtained which might have led to actions preventing the attack.”
The report also found that Abedi’s family held “significant responsibility” for the radicalization of both him and his brother, Hashem Abedi, who was sentenced in the U.K. in 2020 to a minimum of 55 years for his role in the murders.
Thursday’s report is the third and final set of findings to come out of the public inquiry into the terror attack. The U.K. Home Secretary launched the inquiry in October 2019 with its first hearings taking place in Manchester in September 2020. In total, more than 250 witnesses gave 194 days of oral evidence, although much of the evidence from MI5 and counter-terror police officers was heard in secret.
The inquiry’s two previous reports have focused on how emergency services responded to the attack and whether police and concert security should have done more to prevent the bombing.
Families of the victims called the failures exposed in Thursday’s report “unacceptable” and a “devastating conclusion” to the inquiry. “Those killed and injured in this murderous attack had every right to feel safe and protected, but as this inquiry has demonstrated, they were failed at every level — before, during and after this horrific attack,” said Richard Scorer, principal lawyer at Slater and Gordon, reading out a statement on behalf of 11 of the victims’ families.
Andrew Roussos, the father of 8-year-old Saffie-Rose Roussos, who was one of the 22 victims, said the security services’ actions amounted to a “cataclysmic failure.”
“The fact that MI5 failed to stop [Salman Abedi] despite all of the red flags available demonstrates they are not fit to keep us safe and therefore not fit for purpose,” said Roussos.
Following the report’s publication, MI5’s director general, Ken McCallum, said he was “profoundly sorry” that the security service did not prevent the attack. “Gathering covert intelligence is difficult,” McCallum said in a statement, “but had we managed to seize the slim chance we had, those impacted might not have experienced such appalling loss and trauma.”
Max Lousada, CEO of recorded music for Warner Music Group, will sit down for a keynote interview at this year’s electronic music conference IMS Ibiza. The keynote will mark Lousada’s first appearance at the annual event, which is slated for April 26-28 at Destino Pacha Ibiza Resort.
For the summit’s 14th edition, co-hosted by BBC Radio 1 broadcasters Pete Tong MBE and Jaguar, the theme will be Face the Future. Topics will range from the complexities of AI and Web3, diversity and inclusion and ageism in electronic music. Further, conversations are scheduled to explore music rights management, understanding neurodiversity, the ever-changing dynamic between agents and promoters, an analysis of music journalism and the unveiling of the IMS Business Report.
Lousada is one of the first 10 speakers announced for the 2023 conference. IMS Ibiza will also welcome TaP Music co-founder Ben Mawson, who will discuss spearheading the lawsuit that led to house legends Larry Heard and Robert Owens winning a major court battle to reclaim the rights to their back catalogs after decades of struggle.
Across the three days, there will also be a live podcast recording of Takin’ Care of Lady Busine$$ with Justice Department founder/CEO Jennifer Justice and TOKiMONSTA, who will discuss SONA, a new Web3-based music protocol she co-founded that aims to put artists in control of the culture they create.
BBC Radio 1 resident and Hooversound label boss Sherelle will be joined in conversation with Fabio & Grooverider, while DJ Fat Tony will share the journey of his rise to become a kingpin of the ’80s and ’90s club scene in London.
“IMS returns to open the Ibiza season with a powerful and diverse mix of carefully considered content focused on the key issues facing our industry today. In 2023, we no longer have the luxury of speculating about the future: AI has fully arrived, and things will move fast from this point forward,” said IMS co-founder Ben Turner in a release. “As a tidal wave of AI-generated content sweeps in, some welcome a new era of creative possibilities, while others lament the loss of another aspect of humanity in music, all while a cornucopia of unanswered questions are created concerning the control of rights. It’s time for us to collectively ‘Face the Future.’”
Additional speakers include Femme House founder and music director for W Hotels LP Giobbi, manager Cristiana Simon of Alegria Agency, Wasserman music partner Tom Schroeder, iii Points founder David Sinopoli and artist Yellow Squares.
Check out a full list of events and speakers here.
Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge announced that the company had entered into a new partnership with Deezer during an earnings call on Thursday (Mar. 2nd). The goal? To help develop a “new model” that “ensure[s] continued growth of streaming” while also valuing “the contribution of both artists and fans alike.” UMG previously touted a similar partnership with TIDAL in January.
The need for a “new model” — also highlighted in Grainge’s letter to staff from January — was a recurring theme of Thursday’s call. “Streaming has evolved in a way that undervalues the critical contributions of many an artist as well as the engagement of many fans,” Grainge said. This unfortunately flouts “the basic unarguable truth that is: The artists are the center of everything in the music ecosystem,” he added.
UMG executives offered scant details about what this new model would look like, even when asked directly about the topic, saying it was too early to tell. One key element for Grainge appears to be that “artists are rewarded for the fans they bring in [to subscribe to streaming services] and the engagement they drive [on those platforms].” In addition, he hoped that fans would be “offered more ways to engage.”
These sentiments were echoed by Michael Nash, UMG’s executive vp and chief digital officer. Streaming platforms can do “a better job of monetizing these high integrity, high intense artist-fan relationships,” he said. “That will come with superfan monetization. We’ve been speaking with platforms…about the enhancement of offers to the consumer that reflect the engagement with artists that are really driving the economic models of the platform.”
UMG executives also praised the streaming services that have raised their prices recently, mentioning Apple and Amazon by name (twice). “Fans recognize the enormous value offered by music subscriptions, still a relatively low cost, high-value form of entertainment, which in turn has supported decisions made by a number of our DSP partners to raise prices recently,” Grainge said.
But not all streaming services have gone this route. Grainge added, pointedly, that “ensuring the artists’ work is properly valued should be a critical goal for everyone who wants to keep the industry growing.”
In addition to discussing the future of streaming, UMG executives spent a notable portion of the conference call explaining to analysts, in defensive tones, their place in a highly competitive catalog acquisition landscape and the strategy they use to evaluate potential purchases. Grainge said UMG sees “almost everything” in the music rights investment space that goes up for sale and passes on “most of it” because it does not meet the company’s standards for returns.
He also asserted that many competitors in the catalog acquisition space are “passive participants who do nothing and therefore cannot exploit the full potential” of the rights they own. “There are many who claim they actively manage rights, but they do not,” Grainge said. “Why? Their lack of infrastructure, their lack of experience and expertise and even more critical, in many cases, their inability to acquire all of the rights necessary to actively manage anything.”
Acquisitions “are an important, although relatively small proportion of our total business today,” UMG’s CFO Boyd Muir added during his remarks. “But we will continue to be opportunistic, to add to a roster of iconic artists, in a financially disciplined way.”
February was a big month for music and NFTs. Spotify plugged into Web3 with a token-gated playlist experiment, while Def Jam Records signed a virtual band. Snoop Dogg returned with a fresh NFT drop and Rihanna fans got the chance to own streaming royalties in “Bitch Better Have My Money,” right in time for her Super Bowl halftime show — although the NFT drop was not without controversy.
Overall, crypto prices crept higher in February, with Ethereum now up 46% from the start of the year. Based on analysis of sales data from 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases combined with secondary sales volume on OpenSea, here are the 10 biggest-selling music NFTs and collections in February 2023.
1/ Rihanna – “Bitch Better Have My Money”Monthly trading volume: $532,452Primary sales (Feb.): $63,000Secondary volume: 284 ETH ($469,452)Drop date: Feb. 9
While Rihanna was making history at the Super Bowl, her music was making headlines in the NFT space. A portion of streaming royalties in her track, “Bitch Better Have My Money”, were sold via NFTs on Web3 platform Anotherblock, netting $63,000 in sales and a further $469,452 in secondary trading volume. The hype was amplified as Rihanna opened her Feb. 12 halftime set with the track, sending global streaming figures 594% higher in the week ending Feb. 16.
The NFT drop was controversial, though. It was not officially endorsed by Rihanna; instead, the royalties were unlocked through producer DEPUTY’s share in the track, and it’s unknown whether Rihanna was aware of it. The NFTs also quadrupled in value on the secondary market, shooting far beyond logical expectations for return based on the streaming calculations.
The collection was later halted on OpenSea for “promising fractional ownership and future profit based on that ownership” — something OpenSea doesn’t allow — proving that NFT projects positioning themselves purely as investments are still at risk of regulatory scrutiny.
View the collection on OpenSea.
2/ Violetta Zironi – “Another Life”Monthly trading volume: 167 ETH ($276,552)Primary sales (Feb): ~110 ETH ($182,160)Secondary volume: 57 ETH ($94,392)Drop date: Feb. 17
After a successful genesis drop last year, singer-songwriter Violetta Zironi returned in February with a new collection, Another Life — an EP encompassing five tracks and 5,500 unique profile picture illustrations. Holders get access to virtual shows, live concerts and the ability to use the songs for their own projects. To celebrate the drop, Zironi hosted a 14-hour Twitter Spaces marathon with her community.
View the collection on OpenSea.
3/ Kids of the ApocalypseMonthly trading volume: 10748 SOL ($243,979)Primary sales (Feb): 6,666 SOL ($151,318)Secondary volume: 4082 SOL ($92,661)Drop date: Feb.. 9
Several years in the making, Kids of the Apocalypse (KOTA) is an ambitious, immersive music NFT project built on the Solana blockchain. It features graphic novel characters, dystopian storylines and a dark-pop soundtrack from veteran Swedish producer Stefan Storm, previously of pop duo Sound of Arrows. KOTA is now the biggest music NFT project on Solana, a blockchain that offers faster speeds and cheaper transaction fees than Ethereum.
View the collection on OpenSea.
4/ MyFi Studio – “Wind Tunnels” + “Circles Are Bad”Monthly trading volume: 94.48 ETH ($156,458)Primary sales (Feb): 70.33 ETH ($116,466)Secondary volume: 24.15 ETH ($39,992)Drop dates: January 2023 (“Wind Tunnels”) and February 2023 (“Circles Are Bad”)
“Wind Tunnels” and “Circles are Bad” are innovative NFT instruments that you can play and interact with in real-time. They are fully coded onto the Ethereum blockchain itself, which is a significant departure from most music NFTs, in which music is typically stored on an external server while the NFT simply contains a link to the music. “Wind Tunnels” and the follow-up drum machine project “Circles are Bad,” however, are fully coded onchain.
View the “Wind Tunnels” and “Circles Are Bad” collections on OpenSea.
5/ Shilly: The Access PassMonthly trading volume: 82 ETH ($135,792)Primary sales (Feb.): N/ASecondary volume: 82 ETH ($135,792)Drop date: Jan. 31
Shilly — a Bored Ape that makes chaotic pop-punk records — dropped a series of access passes in January, letting the community get involved in music releases. The most exclusive pass, the Band Pass, gives fans the opportunity to work on music with Shilly and even feature on tracks. The project was incubated by Universal Music’s NFT imprint Probably a Label.
View the collection on OpenSea.
6/ KINGSHIPMonthly trading volume: 76 ETH ($125,856)Primary sales (Feb): N/ASecondary volume: 76 ETH ($125,856)Drop date: July 11, 2022
The Bored Ape supergroup was part of a new pilot experiment with Spotify in February, through which KINGSHIP Key Card holders can now access an exclusive ‘token-gated’ playlist on the streaming platform. The news triggered a fresh wave of buying activity in the KINGSHIP collection, which captured 76 ETH in volume last month. Spotify has partnered with a total of four projects in the NFT space to test the new feature.
View the collection on OpenSea.
7/ Snoop Dogg – XYZMonthly trading volume: 45.2 ETH ($74,851)Primary sales (Feb): 44 ETH ($72,864)Secondary sales: 1.2 ETH ($1,987)Drop date: Feb. 3
Snoop Dogg returned to Web3 to capitalize on one of the biggest current trends in the space: open editions. Rather than a fixed supply of NFTs, with open editions — which are typically sold at a lower price to make them more accessible to collectors — fans can mint as many editions as they want within a set time frame. Web3 music pioneers RAC and 3LAU both dropped open editions this month, but Snoop Doog blew the doors off. The rapper sold more than 10,000 editions in a 3-day period via Sound.xyz. Snoop Dogg’s “XYZ” sold for 0.0042 ETH (about $7) each, totaling more than $70,000.
View the collection on OpenSea.
8/ Sammy Arriaga – “Metagirl (remix) featuring Nessy the Rilla”Monthly trading volume: 30 ETH ($49,680)Primary sales (Feb): 30 ETH ($49,680)Secondary volume: N/ADrop date: Feb. 25
Following in Snoop’s footsteps, independent country artist Sammy Arriaga also launched an open edition on Sound.xyz in February, aiming to beat Snoop Dogg’s 10,000 sales with a series of NFT incentives. The biggest collector will receive a special reward, while the rest will be entered into a lottery to win a valuable NFT. At the time of writing, Arriaga has generated 5,000 sales. One collector purchased more than 1,000 NFTs, briefly becoming Sound.xyz’s biggest all-time collector in terms of NFTs held.
View the collection on OpenSea.
9/ Tycho – “The Science of Patterns”Monthly trading volume: $19,000Primary sales: $19,000Secondary volume: N/ADrop date: Feb. 25
Electronic producer Tycho reissued his 20-year-old EP, The Science of Patterns, in February as a digital release for the first time. As a twist, the record is only available as an NFT through Tycho’s Web3 fan club portal. Powered by Web3 tech company Medallion, the multitrack album format is brand new to Web3, allowing fans to stream the entire album within the NFT itself, unlike previous album NFTs which simply unlocked access to music elsewhere.
10/ WVRPSoundMonthly trading volume: 11.09 ETH ($18,365)Primary sales (Feb): N/ASecondary volume: 11.09 ETH ($18,365)Drop date: January 17, 2022
WVRPSound is the biggest music NFT project ever in terms of trading volume. Since launching in January 2022, the collection of AI-generated music and animated characters have earned more than 6,000 ETH in volume (approximately $7.3 million). The project recently announced plans to launch playable versions of its characters in The Sandbox metaverse.
View the collection on OpenSea.
Methodology: The chart was compiled using data from primary music NFT sales across 19 different NFT platforms, independent releases and combined with secondary volume data from OpenSea. Data was captured between Feb. 1 – Feb. 28, 2023. Conversion rates from crypto to US dollars were calculated on Feb 28.
Universal Music Group’s revenues surged 21.6% to 10.34 billion euros ($10.96 billion) for all of 2022, boosted by strong returns from recorded music subscriptions and streaming.
The world’s biggest music company reported the revenue its recorded music division gets from subscriptions and streaming rose by nearly 19% to over 5.3 billion euros ($5.6 billion), while digital revenues in its music publishing division rose by nearly 50% to over 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) in 2022, all helping it achieve a nearly 15% uptick in operating profit.
UMG chairman and chief executive Lucian Grainge said the earnings were evidence the company’s diversified revenue streams has made it an example of the music business’ steady strength amid a darkening economic outlook.
“We continue to successfully manage the company for long term growth while driving strong results in our core business — developing great artists and introducing their music to fans around the world,” said Grainge. “Our roster … achieved enormous commercial and creative success in markets around the world. We also worked to evolve and expand relationships with our existing DSP partners as well as establish new ones in fitness, health, gaming and the metaverse, driving the industry forward though leadership, creativity, innovation and collaboration.”
UMG was home to seven of the top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, 15 of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) top 20 global artists and four of Spotify’s top five global artists in 2022.
UMG reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 19.4% to 2.14 million euros ($2.26 billion) for 2022 from a year ago. Adjusted EBIDTA margin fell by 0.4 percentage points to 20.6%.
The company’s free cash flow increased by a whopping 70.2% to 638 million euros ($675 million) largely from the growth in adjusted EBITDA, according to the company’s filings.
UMG’s Earnings Highlights:
Revenue rose 21.6%, or 13.6% in constant currency, to 10.34 billion euros ($10.96 billion) for 2022 from 8.5 billion euros ($9 billion) in 2021
EBIDTA rose 20.3%, or 12.5% in constant currency, to 2.03 billion euros ($2.15 billion) in 2022 from 1.69 billion euros ($1.78 billion) in 2021
EBITDA margin fell to 19.6% in 2022 from 19.8% in 2021
Adjusted EBITDA rose 19.4%, or 11.7% in constant currency, to 2.14 billion euros ($2.26 billion) in 2022 from 1.79 billion euros ($1.93 billion) in 2021
Operating profit rose 14.8%, or 7.9% in constant currency, to 1.6 billion euros ($1.69 billion) in 2022 from 1.39 billion euros ($1.48 billion) in 2021
Net debt fell 10% to 1.8 billion euros ($1.9 billion) in 2022 from 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in 2021
Free cash flow rose 70.2% to 1.09 billion euros ($1.15 billion) in 2022 from 638 million euros ($675 million) in 2021
Recorded Music Division Highlights:
Recorded music revenue overall rose 16.3%, or 8.8% in constant currency, to 7.9 billion euros in 2022 from 6.8 billion in 2021
Subscriptions and streaming revenue rose 18.7%, or 9.8% in constant currency, to 5.3 billion euros in 2022 from 4.5 billion euros in 2021
Physical revenues rose 7.7%, or 4.1% in constant currency, to 1.2 billion euros in 2022 from 1.12 billion in 2021
License and other revenue rose 19.6%, or 13.4% in constant currency, to 1 billion euros in 2022 from 896 million in 2021
Downloads and other digital revenue rose 4%, or fell 2.9% in constant currency, to 337 million euros in 2022 compared to 324 million in 2021
Music Publishing Highlights:
Music publishing revenues overall rose 34.8%, 26.3% in constant currency, to 1.8 billion euros in 2022 from 1.3 billion euros in 2021
Performance revenues rose 24.9%, or 18.2% in constant currency, to 371 million euros in 2022 from 297 million euros in 2021
Synchronization revenues rose 18.6%, or 10.3% in constant currency, to 236 million euros in 2022 from 199 million euros in 2021
Digital revenues rose 49%, or 38.7% in constant currency, to 1.04 billion euros in 2022 from 698 million euros in 2021
TikTok is one step closer to being effectively banned on mobile devices in the U.S, though an outright prohibition still faces significant hurdles.
A House committee voted along party lines on Wednesday to advance a bill to block U.S. activity on the popular Chinese-owned video app used by more than 100 million Americans. The measure was forced through by Republicans on the committee over opposition from Democrats, who said that the legislation has not been properly vetted and that it could ensnare U.S. businesses that don’t pose a national security risk.
Before the vote, it appeared that the gap between Democrats and Republicans over TikTok’s threat to the U.S. was diminishing. Democrats have increasingly been supporting measures to take action against the social media app, with the White House on Tuesday giving all federal agencies 30 days to delete the app from government devices and a member of the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on privacy calling for the separation of TikTok from its Chinese parent company. Wednesday’s vote in the House Foreign Affairs Committee represents a split between both sides in the severity and speed of measures that should be taken.
Democrats, for now, are on TikTok’s side concerning a national ban. That will have to change for the bill to pass the Senate.
“Everybody knows what TikTok is,” said committee Chair Michael McCaul, R-Texas, on Tuesday when the measure was being considered. “It’s too dangerous to be on our phones as members of Congress. In my judgment, it’s too dangerous to be on our childrens’ phones. That’s the whole point of this bill.”
The legislation directs the Treasury Secretary to issue a directive prohibiting Americans from engaging transactions with entities that could transfer sensitive personal data to entities directed or influenced by the Chinese government. It also empowers the President to impose sanctions on certain transactions relating to connected software applications controlled by entities that could facilitated China’s intelligence, censorship or surveillance activities, including efforts to steer U.S. policy and regulatory decisions. Under the bill, the president can waive certain sanctions and make a decision on whether TikTok or any of its affiliated companies meet the criteria for sanctions.
There’s no evidence that the Chinese government has demanded American user data from TikTok or parent company ByteDance or influenced the content users see on the platform.
In a statement, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said that a “U.S. ban on TikTok is a ban on the export of American culture and values to the billion-plus people who use our service worldwide.”
“We’re disappointed to see this rushed piece of legislation move forward, despite its considerable negative impact on the free speech rights of millions of Americans who use and love TikTok,” she added.
The bill could violate the First Amendment. In a letter sent on Monday, The American Civil Liberties Union detailed constitutional concerns with the measure.
“In a purported attempt to protect the data of U.S. persons from Chinese government acquisition, this legislation will instead limit Americans’ political discussion, artistic expression, free exchange of ideas — and even prevent people from posting cute animal videos and memes,” wrote ACLU federal policy director Christopher Anders. “While the ACLU’s opposition today rests on free speech harms, we note that with more time to review this legislation, we anticipate finding other sweeping implications.”
The ACLU also took issue with the legislation creating a loophole to the Berman Amendment, which removes the president’s authority to regulate the exchange of cultural goods between the U.S. and hostile nations. It said that the bill creates a “slippery slope” that could “leave U.S. residents without some of their favorite international books, movies, and artwork.”
TikTok in 2020 successfully argued that the former president’s effort to force a sale of the company to a U.S. firm violated the Berman Amendment.
In another case dealing with a ban on a Chinese-owned app because of national security concerns that same year, a federal judge blocked a government directive requiring Apple and Google to remove Tencent’s WeChat from their app stores. U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler found that the order could infringe on users’ First Amendment rights by making the app unusable.
Anupam Chander, a professor of law and technology at Georgetown University, told The Hollywood Reporter that “there are other ways to protect American data than to ban an app because it is foreign-owned.”
“We shouldn’t borrow the Chinese strategy of banning foreign information apps like Twitter and Facebook,” he added. “Banning TikTok would prove the Chinese right in banning our apps. The strength of our democracy is its openness.”
The US Committee on Foreign Investment, which reviews business dealing that may be a threat to national security and is empowered to force TikTok to sell to a U.S. company, is currently reviewing ByteDance’s 2017 merger of TikTok and Musical.ly. In August, TikTok proposed to permit ByteDance to continue owning the app in a deal that would silo U.S. user data and restrict access by employees in China.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
This content was created in partnership with Ascend Agency.
Viral TikTok star Bryce Hall has become an investor and partner in Dog For Dog, a cause-based dog food and products company founded by Ryan Kavanaugh, Snoop Dogg, and Michael Bublé in 2011. In celebration of the partnership, Dog For Dog has launched a new dedicated site called “Bryce’s Dog House,” at BrycesDogHouse.com, which will offer special products, giveaways, and offerings only available to fans and followers of Bryce through the partnership site, BrycesDogHouse.com.
Dog For Dog is the first one-for-one cause-based dog food company that specializes in high-quality, natural dog food, treats, and supplements, among other products in key categories. The company is committed to providing the best possible products for dogs, and now it is taking that commitment further by donating a significant portion of its net sales to help dogs in need.
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Dog For Dog’s primary products include “DogsFood,” “Dogsbutter” (an all-natural line of peanut butter made especially for dogs), “Dogstreats,” “Dogsbars,” these products were developed using innovative ingredients with the goal of improving and extending the health of dogs.
“Dog For Dog is not just a company but a movement,” said Ryan Kavanaugh, founder of Dog For Dog. “When we created Dog For Dog, we realized there is a huge need in the market for dog products that use the newest breakthroughs in medicine, pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, nutrition, and advancements in genetics to help extend both the quality and lifespan of dogs. That is our goal,” said Kavanaugh.
“We are thrilled to add Bryce as an investor and partner, and to launch ‘Bryce’s Dog House’ to help bring the best dog products to first-time dog owners and help educate people on the importance of helping dogs in need,” said Tamoor Shafi, CEO & Managing Partner of DogForDog.com. To date, Dog for Dog has donated more than one million pounds of dog food, and the company aims to donate four million pounds in the near future, fueled by its mission to get shelters to “zero kill”. “We are incredibly grateful for our loyal customer base and partners who share our values and support both our mission and the products we offer,” remarked Shafi.
Initially, for every product sold, the company donated a meal to a dog in a shelter or rescue organization. It has since upgraded the program to providing resources for organizations like Labelle to reach even more dogs in need. The program is designed to help provide much-needed nutrition to dogs who may not otherwise have access to high-quality food.
“I have always loved dogs,” said Bryce Hall. “I feel it is my generation’s responsibility to end the idea of any dogs being killed in a pound or shelter because they can’t be fed or can’t find a home, which is why I put my time and money behind such a worthy company. To stand side by side with industry titans like Snoop, Michael, and Ryan is an honor, and I have agreed to take on the responsibility of making sure my generation understands the importance of helping shelter dogs.”
Bryce Hall is passionate about ending the needless killings of dogs in shelters and is committed to educating his generation on the importance of helping shelter dogs. “I feel it is my generation’s responsibility to end the idea of any dogs being killed in a pound or shelter because they can’t be fed or can’t find a home, which is why I put my time and money behind such a worthy company,” said Hall.
Dog for Dog is not just a business but a movement to help stop the millions of dogs euthanized in pounds around the world. The company’s commitment to using only the highest quality, natural ingredients in its products and providing exceptional customer service has earned it prestigious awards, such as “best in show.”
Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé, both founders of the company, are both passionate dog lovers, and share the same commitment to providing the best possible care for their own pets. This commitment is reflected in the quality of the products they offer through Dog for Dog. “Michael and I believe in giving our own dogs the best possible nutrition, and we wanted to extend that same quality to all dogs,” said Snoop Dogg. “We’re proud to offer high-quality, natural products through Dog for Dog, and to give back to dogs in shelters in need.”
For more information about Dogfordog.com and its products, please visit the new website at www.dogfordog.com.
Peermusic has signed production and songwriting team, The Stereotypes (Jonathan Yip and Jeremy Reeves), to a worldwide publishing administration deal. The Stereotypes have made their mark on the music industry by penning hits like “That’s What I Like” by Bruno Mars, “Please Me” by Cardi B and Bruno Mars, “Somebody to Love” by Justin Bieber ft. Usher, “Better” by Lil Yachty, and “After Last Nite” by Silk Sonic (with Thundercat and Bootsy Collins), and Yip says of their new peermusic partnership that he “immediately realized [peermusic] was aligned with our vision.”
The indie publisher has also signed singer, songwriter and producer Alex Anwandter to an exclusive, worldwide co-publishing deal. The deal with peermusic marks the first music publishing deal for the Latin pop artist and encompasses his entire catalog as well as future works, according to the company. The Chilean multi hyphenate is set to release his new album, El Diablo En El Cuerpo, on May 26. It will feature singles such as “Qué Piensas Hacer Sin Mi Amor?” and “Maricoteca.”
Sony Music Publishing Nashville has renewed is publishing agreement with Lindsay Rimes, a songwriter and producer who co-created “Whiskey on You” by Nate Smith and “Heaven” by Kane Brown. Rimes has also worked with Troye Sivan, Kylie Minogue, Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett, Phillip Phillips, Dylan Scott, LoCash, The Cadillac Three, Tyler Rich, Canaan Smith and The Shires. “I couldn’t be more excited about continuing my journey with the Sony family,” says Rimes of the renewed deal.
Warner Chappell has partnered with Song Sleuth, a startup designed to find “undiscovered” royalties from user-generated content and derivative works, specifically using their tool UGSeeker. Song Sleuth describes this as “the first of a number of major deals that are currently in the pipeline.”
Connection Music Publishing has signed a new agreement with indie pop singer-songwriter Hayes Warner, fresh off the release of his songs “Shut Up” and “Airport.” The rising talent will perform at SXSW and as an opener for Lewis Capaldi. Connection Music Publishing is an indie publishing house, founded in early 2021 by Daniel Glass, founder and president of Glassnote Records, and Chris Scully, general manager and CFO of Glassnote Records.
Two songwriters who sued Benny Blanco, Halsey, Khalid and Ed Sheeran for copyright infringement over their 2018 hit “Eastside” have suddenly dropped the lawsuit. Blanco’s lawyer tells Billboard the accusations were “baseless” and “never should have been made.”
Konstantine Lois and Shane Williams, who perform under the name American XO, accused Blanco and the other stars of ripping off a 2015 song called “Loveless,” claiming that a core riff in each song involved “identical” musical features.
But in a motion filed Tuesday in California federal court, attorneys for Lois and Williams voluntarily agreed to dismiss the case. The filing said each side would pay their own legal bills; it gave no indication that any money would exchange hands or songwriting credits would be amended.
In a statement to Billboard, Blanco’s attorney Donald S. Zakarin said the accusers had unilaterally dropped the case because they were “certain to lose” and would have faced the prospect of repaying the stars’ legal bills if they had continued to litigate such a case.
“While we are grateful that plaintiffs belatedly recognized they had no viable claim of copyright infringement, it is unfortunate that our clients … ever had to deal with an infringement accusation that never should have been made,” Zakarin said. “Like many of the infringement cases we have been seeing in the last few years, baseless infringement claims come at a cost, not merely to our clients in defending but to the public because they will inevitably chill creativity.”
In their own statement to Billboard, Lois and Williams said they had dropped the lawsuit because they lacked “the financial resources or insurance to continue the fight.” But they noted that the judge had actually sided with them in an early-stage ruling, allowing their case to move forward.
“The obvious similarities in the songs created genuine concerns that our work was copied. Before filing the lawsuit, we hired a respected musicologist who shared those concerns,” Lois and Williams wrote. “We continue to believe that our concerns are not without merit, however, simply put, continuing forward with the case would be too costly, challenging, and risky for us.”
Released in July 2018, “Eastside” was the debut single for Blanco (born Benjamin Joseph Levin), who had previously spent years writing and producing major hits for other stars under the tutelage of producer Dr. Luke. The song, co-written and performed by Blanco, Halsey and Khalid and co-written by Sheeran and Nathan Perez, reached No. 8 on the Hot 100 and eventually spent 52 weeks on the chart.
But in May 2021, Lois and Williams claimed that Blanco’s hit was essentially lifted directly from their “Loveless.” In a complaint filed in California federal court, attorneys for the pair dove deep into the alleged musical similarities between the two tracks.
“Both the Loveless riff and the Eastside riff comprise of identical two note dyads of identical note intervals played over identical beats,” attorney Matthew Higbee wrote at the time. “Both riffs are played on guitar and require identical finger positions. Both riffs contain an identical slide of the fingers up the neck of the guitar between the second and third dyad.”
The duo claimed the allegedly stolen riff played a particularly important role in “Eastside,” because it was “repeated on a loop for the entirety of the song.”
Until very recently, the case showed no signs of an imminent settlement. As is typical in such lawsuits, the two sides were in the midst of exchanging reports by musicologists about whether the songs were similar enough to constitute copyright infringement. Both sides then planned to file motions seeking so-called summary judgment – a final ruling without a trial.
But last month, attorneys for Lois and Williams filed notice with the judge that their chosen musicologist had suddenly become unavailable to continue working on the case, and that they would need an extension of deadlines to find a replacement.
Faced with that request, attorneys for Blanco and the other pop stars quickly argued that sudden disappearance raised “serious concerns.” They said there might be an “innocent explanation,” but suggested that it also might be because Lois and Williams couldn’t find an expert who would testify that “Eastside” had infringed “Loveless.”
“If plaintiffs’ problems are the product of the weakness of their claims and their consequent inability to secure an expert who is willing to attempt a rebuttal of [the defendants’ expert], then they should dismiss this case now with prejudice instead of unnecessarily imposing on the time of this court and increasing the costs of defendants,” Zakarin wrote the judge on Feb. 13.
Two days later, the judge denied the request for an extension. Two weeks after that, Lois and Williams dismissed their case with prejudice.
Mojo Music and Media has acquired rights to the catalogs of six different hitmakers: Warren Cuccurullo, Geraldo Sandell (Teddy Sky), Bruce Belland, Omar Lyefook, and two members of the pop band Metro Station.
A music publisher and brand/legacy management firm with offices across four continents, Mojo is home to a diverse catalog of more than 20,000 compositions, including shares of songs recorded by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Aretha Franklin to George Strait.
Its new additions include works by Cuccurullo, a songwriter and guitarist who started his career with Frank Zappa before co-founding Missing Persons and joining Duran Duran. The deal entails Cuccurullo’s entire share of his writer and publishing rights as well as artist royalties and neighboring rights. As part of Missing Persons, he helped pen songs like “Words,” “Mental Hopscotch” and “Destination Unknown,” and as a member of Duran Duran he contributed to “Bruning the Ground,” “Ordinary World,” “Come Undone” and “Violence of Summer.” Additionally, Mojo has also signed a deal with Cuccurullo to manage and promote his solo work.
Mojo also acquired the entire publishing and songwriter interests in the catalog of Sandell, who is best known for “On The Floor” by Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull, “Down For Whatever” by Kelly Rowland and more.
The indie publishing house’s acquisition of Belland’s work included his complete songwriter and publishing rights and recorded music royalties. Belland is best known as the lead singer of The Four Preps, a four-part harmony troupe he co-founded in 1956. During their nine-year run, Belland and the band made hits like “26 Miles (Santa Catalina)” and “Big Man,” along with “Down By The Station,” “Got A Girl” and “A Letter To The Beatles,” and Belland also wrote singles for other popular artists at the time, including Barron Knights, Lee Hazelwood and Lutricia McNeal.
Lyefook, the English neo-soul artist and songwriter, sold his full writer’s share and majority of his publisher’s share to Mojo. His songs “There’s Nothing Like This,” “Outside,” “Keep Steppin,” “Saturday” and “Say Nothin,” became major hits in the U.K. during the 1990s, leading to collaborations between Lyefook and American singers like Lamont Dozier, Leon Ware, Angie Stone and Stevie Wonder.
Lastly, Mojo has also bought rights to the catalog of Metro Station members Blake Healy and Anthony Improgo, including the late aughts hit “Shake It” and follow-up single “Seventeen Forever.”
“As we approach our fifth anniversary, we are deeply honored that our success in thoughtfully promoting veteran songwriters and their songs continues to attract some of the most influential music makers in the world to our Mojo family,” says the company’s co-founder and CEO Mark Fried. “The Mojo catalog, now representing nearly 700 chart hits, including 250 Top 10’s spanning nine decades, is proudly one of the most diverse and hit-laden collections in the indie publishing space. We couldn’t be more excited to be representing Warren, Teddy, Bruce, Omar, Blake and Ant’s collective works, still beloved by fans everywhere, and look forward to re-energizing them via everything from faithful covers and genre-busting interpolations to trailerized remixes, ubiquitous syncs and guerilla social media campaigns.”