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A Florida judge says Drake won’t need to sit for a deposition over the murder of XXXtentacion, seemingly swayed by the star’s arguments that he has no connection to the case.
Defense attorneys for one of XXX’s alleged killers have been trying to question Drake over his alleged beef with the late rapper prior to his 2018 shooting death. But Drake’s lawyers have argued that dragging him into the case without any evidence linking him to the crime is “unreasonable and oppressive.”
In a ruling issued Tuesday (Feb. 14), Judge Michael Usan sided with Drake’s attorneys, according to a person with knowledge of the proceedings, signing off on an order voiding a subpoena that would have required the star to sit for such a deposition. TMZ was first to report the news on Tuesday.
Neither a rep for Drake nor the defense attorney who sought to depose him returned a request for comment.
Prosecutors have never claimed that Drake (real name Aubrey Graham) was involved in the 2018 murder of XXX (real name Jahseh Onfroy). Instead, they’ve charged four Florida men — Dedrick Williams, Trayvon Newsome, Michael Boatwright and Robert Allen — who they allege killed XXX during a robbery that escalated into deadly violence.
But defense attorney Mauricio Padilla, who represents Williams, listed Drake on a star-studded witness list last year. And in his opening statements at trial last week, Padilla suggested that the police had not sufficiently investigated a possible connection to Drake, who allegedly had an existing feud with XXX before his death. Such speculation has been fueled by a 2018 social media post — later deleted — in which XXX said: “If anyone tries to kill me it was @champagnepapi,” referring to Drake by his Instagram name.
With plans to make those arguments at trial, Padilla attempted to force Drake to sit for a Jan. 27 deposition but later claimed the star didn’t show up for the hearing. Last week, Judge Usan ordered Drake to appear for a deposition via Zoom on Feb. 24 or risk being held in contempt.
But Drake’s lawyers quickly moved to overturn that ruling. In a filing Sunday (Feb. 12), they said it was unreasonable to demand a deposition when “no evidence has been provided to substantiate the assertion that the [Drake] in any way contributed to, had knowledge of, or participated in the alleged incident.”
Instead, they cited that headline-grabbing December witness list — which also listed Quavo, Offset, Tekashi 6ix9ine, Joe Budden and even late Migos rapper Takeoff after he had already been killed — and argued that the defense attorneys were merely trying to pull unrelated big names into the case.
“It would appear, based on the names mentioned on the witness list filed by defendant’s counsel, that the intent to subpoena [Drake] is less for the purpose of discovering relevant evidence and testimony, but instead add more layers of celebrity and notoriety to a tragic and unfortunate event,” the star’s lawyers wrote.
Tuesday’s order granted the motion from Drake’s attorneys and tossed out last week’s ruling. It’s unclear if Padilla can try to depose Drake at a future point in the case.
The catalog of Death Row Records, which includes canonical rap albums like 2Pac‘s All Eyez On Me and Snoop Dogg‘s Doggystyle, is now available on TikTok.
Snoop Dogg acquired the Death Row catalog last year and pulled it from streaming services, though Dr. Dre‘s The Chronic returned to platforms earlier this month, licensed to Interscope Records, in honor of the album’s 30th anniversary. The SoundOn deal marks the remainder of the Death Row catalog’s first official online release since it was pulled from streamers in February 2022.
“Since I took Death Row off streaming almost a year ago, not a day goes by without people asking me to put it back up,” Snoop Dogg said in a statement. “As the Super Bowl rolled around, I knew fans would be looking for the music from our iconic performance in 2022, so I wanted to reintroduce the most historic catalog to the people.” He added that Death Row releases “will be back on streaming services real soon.”
TikTok is touting the exclusive partnership, which launched on Sunday (Feb. 12) and continues for the rest of the week, as the “first-ever catalog reissue to release exclusively through SoundOn,” the distribution and marketing service the company launched in 2022. (SoundOn will distribute Death Row music to ByteDance platforms only, not to streaming services, once the exclusivity window ends next week.)
SoundOn was initially conceived to help “new and undiscovered artists,” according to TikTok global head of music Ole Obermann.
“We were hearing from a lot of artists that they loved being on TikTok and trying to build their community and hopefully reach really big audiences, but they were pretty overwhelmed, they didn’t really understand how to get onto TikTok, get music onto TikTok, get an account set up on TikTok, figure out how to position themselves in the right way,” Obermann told Billboard last year. “So what we came up with was, let’s have a special entrance into the platform that’s only available to these new and undiscovered artists, and then we’re gonna have a chance to work much more closely with them if this is the route they choose to come in. The goal is, really, that we find the promising artist and we walk them from the backstage door right onto the main stage and they’re there, they’re performing, it’s an incredible show and they’ve found their audience.”
Artists who have worked with SoundOn include Muni Long and Nicky Youre. It was initially only available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Indonesia but launched in Australia earlier this month.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has rebranded his parent company from Combs Enterprises to Combs Global as the top rapper and record producer continues to diversify his portfolio of music, fashion, drinks and TV ventures internationally.
“Combs Global represents the next chapter in my journey as a business leader and a bigger vision to build the largest portfolio of leading Black-owned brands in the world,” Combs said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Bad Boy Entertainment Group founder, who is credited with carving out a new niche within the hip-hop genre, has in recent years expanded with new businesses like Empower Global formally Shop Circulate, Our Fair Share, Love Records and cannabis distribution by acquiring Cresco Labs.
Combs with the rebrand is looking to project continued expansion, and globally. “I’ve enlisted world-class teams of top executives, specialists and strategic partners to bring this new dream to life and put us in the best position to keep making history while leading another 30 years of dominance across industries,” he said.
Combs bought back his Sean John fashion line in 2020 and also forged a partnership with Diageo for his Ciroc Vodka label and later acquired tequila brand DeLeón. He also launched the fitness and wellness water brand AQUAhydrate.
In 2013, Combs launched REVOLT Media & TV, the first Black-owned multiplatform cable music network, which now reaches more 80 million homes and 20 million monthly viewers digitally.
More recently, Combs acquired The Nile List, invested in the creator platform REC Philly and expanded his Capital Preparatory charter school network to now include campuses in the Bronx, New York and Hartford, Connecticut.
The corporate rebrand includes a new website and logo unveiled as part of a Uber One Super Bowl commercial that starred Combs as he dreamed up a hit song for Uber One.
This article originally appeared on THR.com.
TikTok is working on a feature that will allow creators to charge a price of their own choosing for some videos, according to The Information.
In addition, the popular app is rethinking its creator fund and experimenting with a change that would pay out more to creators than the initial version of the program, The Information reports. The new iteration of the fund may also potentially change the limits of who is eligible; creators might need to have more than 100,000 followers, for example. This “Creator Fund 2.0” could launch as early as March.
“We’re committed to exploring new ways to create a valuable and rewarding experience for the TikTok creator community,” a TikTok spokesperson says in an email. “On TikTok, anyone can be a creator and everyone can enjoy entertainment from our inspiring creators, and we aim to continue innovating this experience so people can express themselves, find their community, and be rewarded for their creativity.”
TikTok originally launched its creator fund in the summer of 2020 with $200 million “to help support ambitious creators who are seeking opportunities to foster a livelihood through their innovative content.” Shortly after, TikTok announced that the fund would eventually grow to more than $1 billion in the United States.
While TikTok’s growth has been meteoric in the last few years, it actually slowed in the United States in 2022, according to The Information, which reports that after the platform hit 114 million monthly users in June, the number has since decreased to 111 million.
As TikTok explores these new features, the company is also engaged in another test in Australia, where the platform is temporarily restricting the use of major-label songs in videos. “This will only affect certain music and is scheduled work while we analyze how sounds are accessed and added to videos, as well as looking to improve and enhance the wider Sounds Library,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. “We appreciate it’s disappointing if a certain track is unavailable or if a sound is muted on a previous video. This change will not be in place for long and not all music is affected.”
Diplo’s Mad Decent Publishing has sold its catalog to Olivier Chastan‘s music rights and brand management company Iconoclast, the company announced Tuesday (Feb. 14). Financial details were not disclosed.
Diplo launched Mad Decent with his manager and business partner Kevin Kusatsu as a record label in 2006 before branching into publishing. The deal with Iconoclast includes songs by Mad Decent Publishing songwriters Henry Agincourt Allen (professionally known as King Henry), Philip Meckseper (Jr Blender), Karen Orsted (MØ), Valentino Kahn, Clement & Maxime Picard and Dillon Francis. Songs in the catalog include Major Lazer hits like “Lean On (featuring MØ and DJ Snake),” “Cold Water (featuring Justin Bieber and MØ)” and “Know No Better (featuring Travis Scott, Camila Cabello and Quavo)” as well as Mark Ronson’s “Nothing Breaks Like A Heart (featuring Miley Cyrus).”
Previously the head of Irving Azoff‘s Iconic Artists Group, Chastan founded Iconoclast in 2021 and has been quietly acquiring assets large and small, powered by the heft of institutional backing. In February 2022, the company bought The Band musician Robbie Robertson‘s music publishing, recorded interests and name, image & likeness rights in a deal that Variety valued at worth roughly $25 million.
In a statement, Chastan described the body of work at Mad Decent Publishing as “one of the most exciting and original catalogs where Brazilian Baile Funk and Angolan Kuduro mix with EDM and pop.
“I first became aware of Mad Decent when Kevin Kusatsu and Diplo were working on the first Major Lazer album,” Chastan continued. “The sound was completely different, the songwriting utterly original and fresh-sounding, and the production uniquely creative. Our acquisition of the Mad Decent Publishing catalog illustrates our commitment to preserving and growing culturally significant art of any era including with artists that are shaping contemporary music.”
Representing Iconoclast in the deal were Scott McDowell and Peter Paterno of King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano. Mad Decent Publishing was represented by Jordan Bromley, Eric Custer and Alex Spring of Manatt, Phelps, & Phillips.
50 Cent and Fox Entertainment have agreed on a non-exclusive multi-project broadcast direct deal.
Announced Tuesday (Feb. 14) by Fox Entertainment’s president of scripted programming Michael Thorn, 50 Cent (born Curtis Jackson) will “develop scripted dramas, live-action comedies and animated series that would air on FOX. Any series created under the deal will be owned by FOX Entertainment and produced by its in-house unit, FOX Entertainment Studios, in collaboration with G-Unit Film & Television.”
“Whether it’s music, film, or television, Curtis always delivers premium entertainment that captivates millions of fans across the globe,” said Thorn in a press release. “He is the rare multi-hyphenate with a deft hand at storytelling, no matter the format or medium, and we’re looking forward to developing new and exciting series for FOX with him and his team.”
Adds 50: “I am excited to formalize a partnership with Michael Thorn and FOX that will allow G-Unit Film & Television to focus on putting multiple series on FOX, a perfect broadcast destination for G-Unit Film & Television content while our premium, streaming, scripted and non-scripted slates continue to grow in all directions.”
Last week, 50 graced Billboard’s digital cover issue that celebrated the 20th anniversary of Get Rich or Die Tryin’ and his formidable multi-media empire.
“My run was so uncomfortable that everyone would like to forget that it happened,” 50 ruminated about his fiery ’00s run. “That’s just the way it is with the artist community. I didn’t come in being friendly because I had to find a way into it — not find a way to be good enough to work in the community. The biggest compliment in the early stages was that artists felt like they’d made it when they got the deal. You had to earn the right to have the deal.”
You can read the story in full here.
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: Ed Sheeran’s lawyers move to ban a “misleading” concert clip from his upcoming copyright trial, Justin Bieber is sued over a 2022 shooting the occurred after his concert, Drake fights back against efforts to drag him into the XXXtentacion murder trial, and much more.
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THE BIG STORY: Ed Sheeran’s Lawyers Want Concert Footage Banned From Trial
Ed Sheeran is headed to trial in a few months over allegations that his smash hit “Thinking Out Loud” infringed Marvin Gaye‘s iconic “Let’s Get It On.” And unfortunately for Ed, there’s a video floating around on YouTube of him playfully switching back and forth between the two songs at a 2014 concert.
Unsurprisingly, Sheeran’s accusers (the heirs of Gaye’s co-writer Ed Townsend) want to play that video at the trial. They point to an earlier ruling in the case when the judge specifically noted that a clip of Sheeran “seamlessly transitioning” between the two songs might serve as key evidence in a jury trial.
But in a new filing last week, Sheeran’s lawyers asked that same judge to block the plaintiff’s from citing the video. The problem? They say the video is falsely incriminating – that it might look to jurors like damning evidence, but only actually shows that both songs contain a common chord progression.
“There are dozens if not hundreds of songs that predate and postdate [Let’s Get It On] utilizing the same or similar chord progression,” Sheeran’s lawyers wrote. “These medleys are irrelevant to any issue in the case and would be misleading [and] confuse the jury.”
For a full breakdown of Sheeran’s arguments – including their claim that the dispute could have a broader “chilling effect” on how artists perform at concerts – go read our story here.
Other top stories this week…
2022 SHOOTING LAWSUIT – Justin Bieber and Kodak Black were hit with a lawsuit over a shooting that occurred last year outside a pre-Super Bowl party that followed Bieber concert, filed by two men who say they were hit in the crossfire.
DRAKE’S DEPOSITION DRAMA – A Florida judge ordered Drake to sit for a deposition over the murder of XXXtentacion, but the superstar’s lawyers quickly fired back that he has no connection at all to the crime and that defense attorneys are merely trying to “add more layers of celebrity and notoriety” to the case.
ANTITRUST ANTICLIMAX – A federal appeals court rejected an antitrust lawsuit accusing Ticketmaster and Live Nation of exploiting its “impregnable market power” to foist inflated prices on hundreds of thousands of fans. Upholding an earlier ruling, the court said concertgoers forfeited their right to sue in court when they bought their tickets.
DEATH PENALTY SHOWDOWN – Lawyers for YNW Melly launched an appeal to the Florida Supreme Court, seeking to overturn a ruling last year that said the rapper could face the death penalty if convicted in his upcoming murder trial. They say the state violated strict procedural requirements for seeking the death penalty.
MOFI SCANDAL SETTLED. OR IS IT? – Vinyl producer Mobile Fidelity reached a settlement that could be worth as much as $25 million to resolve allegations that the company’s pricey “all analog” records were secretly created using digital methods. But some customers are already objecting to the deal, saying it’s “tainted by the stink of collusion.”
YOUTUBE SCAMMER PLEADS GUILTY – Jose Teran, one of two men accused of orchestrating a $23 million scam to steal YouTube royalties from artists, pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering charges on the eve of a looming trial. Along with business partner Webster Batista Fernandez (who already pleaded guilty), Teran stole millions from Latin artists under the name “MediaMuv” in what amounts to one of the largest royalty scams in history.
Hipgnosis Song Management announced a deal on Tuesday that gives Beatclub producers access to some of Hipgnosis’ iconic hit songs and boosts its own access to more synch opportunities, the companies said in a joint statement.
Launched in 2021 by four-time Grammy winner Timbaland and his longtime manager, the head of Mono Music Group Gary Marella, Beatclub is an online marketplace built to help creators and producers monetize their beats and music.
Beatclub users can already use beats by Timbaland and others, like Justin Timberlake, Tainy, J. Cole and Mike Dean, in their own mixes. Hipgnosis, which also invested in Beatclub’s recent series A-2 funding round, will now also offer a hand-picked collection of songs from its catalog approved for sampling by Beatclub’s elite tier of producers. Any other rights that artists need to have cleared for usage are handled by Beatclub’s licensing team.
The deal could also help place more of Hipgnosis’ songs in films, TV, ads and games because Beatclub’s portal helps connect artists on its platform to synch opportunities with major brand, label, gaming and production companies. Similar strategies have been deployed by other catalog companies, like Primary Wave.
Timbaland has worked with Hipgnosis and its founder Merck Mercuriadis before, having sold his catalog to the music investment in 2019.
“At a time when interpolation and sampling has never been a more important part of creation and success, I want the greatest creators in the world to have access to our incomparable songs to make them the hits not only of the past but the future,” Mercuriadis, founder and head of Hipgnosis Song Management, said in a statement.
Calling Mercuriadis a “disruptor,” Timbaland said Mercuriadis’ “vision of the future of the music creator economy aligns closely with Beatclub’s.”
Marella, Beatclub’s co-founder, said Hipgnosis’ mission to promote songwriters and producers’ rights aligns with Beatclub’s values. “Beatclub … was built for creators by creators,” Marella said in a statement. “Our mission has always been to empower artists, song writers and producers however we can.”
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Nancy Wilson has launched a new management company, Roadcase Management, with first client, Portland, Oregon-based singer/songwriter Madisenxoxo.
The Heart co-founder and guitarist tells Billboard that she isn’t worried about balancing her music and her new management role, adding she feels a passion to extend a hand to those coming after her. “I believe rock music still has such a meaningful place in the world and I’m ready to go to bat for the new generation of inspired talent,” she says. “I want to do this because in today’s world new music needs more of a fighting chance to get through to the fans despite the compartmentalized markets.”
Wilson, who holds the titles of Roadcase founder/president and CEO, instantly connected with Madisenxoxo’s sound. “I fell in love with Madisenxoxos music the first time I heard it,” she says. “There is something really competent and surprising in both her writing, production and delivery. For me it feels like a whole new sound we’ve all been waiting to hear. It borrows from a few classic sound genres that evoke a new cultural context at a time when, I think, the culture is ready for it.”
Wilson’s husband and former label executive Geoff Bywater serves as co-founder/president and CEO, while Julia Bywater is vp/chief marketing officer.
Geoffrey Bywater, Bywater’s son who serves as the company’s head of A&R and management, became aware of Madisenxoxo through another artist, McCall, he worked with. “The first demo Madisen sent over was ‘You’re So Pretty.’ Man, the song knocked me out. The blend of genres and storytelling is something I’ve only seen true innovative artists do, and the fact that it’s only been her and her partner [producer] Josh [Horine] is wild.”
“You’re So Pretty,” which comes out later this week, is featured on Madisenoxo’s EP, Mothership, to be released through a distribution deal with Pack Music on April 21. “When we were making all these songs, we were exploring different genres and ideas,” Madisenxoxo said in a statement. “We weren’t limited by any certain sounds. Somehow it ended up being cohesive together in a really cool way that I didn’t expect. I think it was really good for me to branch out and lose focus—in a good way. It enabled us to find sounds that we wouldn’t have been able to find otherwise.”
Wilson says she plans to add more acts to Roadcase’s roster but is in no rush: “Developing a roster will take time as we intend to stick to quality over quantity and seek only the right artists for the right reasons.”
Grammy-nominated producer, songwriter and engineer Marty MARO has signed a co-publishing agreement with Brandon Silverstein Publishing and Patriot Publishing. MARO, born Marty Rod, has written and produced with talents like Selena Gomez, DJ Snake, John Legend, Anitta and Bastille, and his work has been featured in ads, gaming and films, including Meta, Madden 23, Space Jam and others.
MARO’s signing announcement arrives just after Brandon Silverstein Publishing also inked a publishing agreement with producer and songwriter Jasper Harris — best known for songs like “First Class” by Jack Harlow, “Family Ties” by Baby Keem and Kendrick Lamar, and “I Like You” by Post Malone and Doja Cat.
Brandon Silverstein Publishing is the new monicker for S10 Publishing, a company which has signed a number of deals in conjunction with Avex USA, the American branch of Japanese music and entertainment company Avex Group. These partnered deals include Harris as well as “Peaches” writer HARV, Jamaican singer Shenseea, The Kid LAROI collaborator and Internet Money member Cxdy, “Build a Bitch” co-writer David Arkwright, “Stunnin’” producer Declan Hoy, and Travis Scott, Bad Bunny and Future writer/producer KOSA.
For MARO’s signing, the quickly building BSP has partnered with OneRepublic frontman and hitmaker Ryan Tedder’s company Patriot Publishing. Tedder says of the new signing, “Marty’s a beast with an insatiable work ethic. He is an extremely gifted producer and topliner, and I hope to have him part of the family for years to come.”
MARO adds, “I am extremely excited to be joining forces with Ryan and Brandon in this new chapter of my career! They are both two forces of nature in the business and their belief in my vision and musical ability, along with their experience and global reach feels like the perfect combination for me. Together we’ve already achieved some major accomplishments, and I believe the future of my career is in great hands.”
“I’ve been lucky enough to watch Marty work in the studio and I’ve seen how he’s able to help artists create their best work,” says Silverstein, founder and CEO of Brandon Silverstein Publishing. “I’m so thrilled to have him join the family.”