Business
Page: 52
Jay-Z’s attorneys have written a letter to a New York courthouse revealing that the rapper intends to “immediately” file a motion to strike a recent complaint accusing him of raping a teenager 24 years ago.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
In the letter obtained by Billboard, the legal team cited a new NBC report on Friday night (Dec. 13), in which the accuser — identified as Jane Doe in the lawsuit filed against Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) and Diddy — recalled the “catastrophic event,” while also acknowledging a number of inconsistencies in her original account. “I have made some mistakes,” she shared, noting that while she still stands by her accusations, there are a few details that are unclear.
One of the inconsistencies is that the woman originally said her father picked her up after the assault, but he denied that. She also claimed she spoke to singer Benji Madden at the event, though he wasn’t in New York at the time of the party.
The letter from Jay-Z’s attorney took aim at Doe’s attorney Anthony Buzbee. “Given today’s relevations, Mr. Buzbee almost certainly failed to undertake a reasonable inquiry into the facts before filing the complaint,” the message reads. “He should never have brought the claims.”
The letter concludes by noting that Jay “intends to file immediately a motion to strike the first amended complaint.”
In a press statement, Jay-Z echoed the sentiments of his attorney. “Today’s investigative report proves this ‘attorney’ Buzbee filed a false complaint against me in the pursuit of money and fame. This incident didn’t happen and yet he filed it in court and doubled down in the press. True justice is coming. We fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. This was over before it began. This 1-800 lawyer doesn’t realize it yet, but, soon.”
His lawyer Alex Spiro added, “It is stunning that a lawyer would not only file such a serious complaint without proper vetting, but would make things worse by further peddling this false story in the press. We are asking the Court to dismiss this frivolous case today, and will take up the matter of additional discipline for Mr. Buzbee and all the lawyers that filed the complaint.”
Over the weekend, Jay-Z was accused of raping a 13-year-old girl in 2000 at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty alongside Diddy. The shocking civil case was filed by an anonymous accuser and Texas attorney Tony Buzbee, whom Jay called a “deplorable human.”
The rapper also denyied all of the allegations against him when news broke. “You have made a terrible error in judgement thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” Jay-Z said. “I’m not from your world. I’m a young man who made it out of the projects of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists … will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable. I look forward to showing you just how different I am.”
Jay-Z continued: “My only heartbreak is for my family. My wife and I will have to sit our children down, one of whom is at the age where her friends will surely see the press and ask questions about the nature of these claims, and explain the cruelty and greed of people. I mourn yet another loss of innocence.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs has dropped his appeal to be released on bail, according to court documents filed on Friday (Dec. 13). The voluntary dismissal means the hip-hop mogul will remain behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn until the start of his criminal trial in May. “Mr. Combs does not seek to appeal […]
K-pop stocks rebounded this week from a slump caused by the country’s political turmoil. HYBE, which was also dragged down by news of an investigation of its chairman, Bang Si-Hyuk, regarding the company’s 2020 initial public offering, led the group of South Korean music companies by gaining 8.7% to 205,500 won ($143.16), bringing the stock back to its level from one month ago. Elsewhere, YG Entertainment gained 7.2% to 48,250 won ($33.61) to recapture losses from the previous three weeks while SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment had smaller improvements of 3.3% and 2.6%, respectively.
The 20-company Billboard Global Music Index (BGMI) dropped 1.6% to 2,243.59, marking its first weekly decline in seven weeks. After reaching record highs in each of the previous five weeks, the index was overcome by the losses among 13 of its 20 stocks. The BGMI fared worse than many major indexes. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite gained 0.3% and the S&P 500 fell 0.6%. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 lost 0.1%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index gained 2.7% while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.4%.
Trending on Billboard
The week’s biggest gainer was Abu Dhabi-based music streaming company Anghami. In the absence of any market-moving news or regulatory filing, the company’s shares spiked 17.4% on Tuesday (Dec. 10) on heavy trading volume. On an average day, 80,000 shares of Anghami trade hands. But nearly 3.5 million shares — 5% of the company’s shares outstanding — were traded on Tuesday, and another 616,000 shares exchanged hands over the next two days.
Other than Anghami and K-pop stocks, only two companies posted gains this week. Universal Music Group, the index’s second-largest company, gained 4.6% to 24.46 euros ($25.69), its best closing price since it lost 24% following second-quarter earnings on July 25. Warner Music Group improved 0.3% to $32.52.
Spotify, the hottest music stock of 2024, had a losing week for the first time since September. The streaming company’s share price dropped 3.1% to $483.31, finishing the week 4.6% off its all-time high of $506.47 set on Dec. 4. Still, investors have renewed faith in Spotify after the company improved its margins and bottom line while maintaining the same rapid growth rate before it laid off nearly a quarter of its workforce in 2023. Spotify shares are up 157.2% year to date and the company’s market capitalization briefly surpassed $100 billion a week ago.
Live Nation shares fell 0.6% to $135.95 despite more analysts raising price targets on the concert promoter’s share price this week. Wolfe Research increased its price target to $160 from $152. JP Morgan upped its price target to $150 from $137. And Roth MKM raised Live Nation to $152 from $132. Live Nation’s stock is up 45.2% year to date and is one of the best performers on the BGMI.
SiriusXM had the week’s biggest loss after dropping 14.8% to $24.11. On Tuesday, the company announced guidance for 2025 revenue that would represent a 2% decline from full-year 2024 revenue guidance. The company also revealed it is doubling down on in-car listening and refocusing on satellite radio after its year-old streaming app delivered disappointing results. Following the news, Seaport Global lowered its recommendation on SiriusXM’s stock to “neutral” from “buy.”
In other stock moves, German concert promoter CTS Eventim fell 4.9% to 34.37 euros ($36.10). The company announced this week that it acquired a 17% stake in French ticketing company France Billet. Lastly, New York-based live events company Madison Square Garden Entertainment dropped 8.5% to $34.37 and radio giant iHeartMedia was down 12.3% to $2.29.
Paula Abdul and former “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe have agreed to settle a lawsuit in which she alleged he sexually assaulted her in the early 2000s when she was a judge on the show.
Abdul filed a notice of settlement of the case in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday. It still must be approved by a judge.
“I am grateful that this chapter has successfully come to a close and is now something I can now put behind me,” Abdul said in a statement Friday. “This has been a long and hard-fought personal battle. I hope my experience can serve to inspire other women, facing similar struggles, to overcome their own challenges with dignity and respect, so that they too can turn the page and begin a new chapter of their lives.”
In his own statement, Lythgoe said, “We live in a troubling time where a person is now automatically assumed to be guilty until proven innocent, a process that can take years. That is why, like Paula, I am glad to be able to put this behind me. I know the truth and that gives me great comfort.”
The court filing said the settlement was unconditional, but did not reveal the terms, and Abdul’s attorney Melissa Eubanks said she could not comment on them.
The lawsuit filed nearly a year ago had also accused Lythgoe of sexually assaulting Abdul after she left “American Idol” and became a judge on Lythgoe’s other competition show, “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Lythgoe said at the time that he was “shocked and saddened” by the allegations, which he called “an appalling smear.”
After other lawsuits were filed alleging sexual misconduct, Lythgoe stepped down in January from his role as a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance.”
The 75-year-old English-born producer has been a prominent TV producer for decades in both the U.K. and the U.S., working on reality competition shows including “American Idol.”
The Associated Press generally does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly, as Abdul has done.
Abdul, a Grammy and Emmy-winning singer and dancer, said in the lawsuit that she remained silent for years about the alleged assaults out of fear of retaliation by “one of the most well-known producers of television competition shows.”
She alleged that the first sexual assault occurred while Abdul and Lythgoe were on the road filming auditions for an early season of “American Idol,” which premiered in 2002.
Abdul says Lythgoe groped her in the elevator of their hotel after a day of filming and “began shoving his tongue down her throat.” Abdul pushed him away and ran to her hotel room when the elevator doors opened.
“In tears, Abdul quickly called one of her representatives to inform them of the assault,” the lawsuit says, “but ultimately decided not to take action for fear that Lythgoe would have her fired.”
Abdul starred as a judge for the first eight seasons, leaving in 2009.
In 2015, Abdul became a judge on “So You Think You Can Dance,” appearing alongside Lythgoe.
Around that time, Abdul alleged in the lawsuit, Lythgoe forced himself on top of her during a dinner at his home and tried to kiss her. Abdul said she again pushed Lythgoe away and immediately left.
Abdul left that reality show after two seasons. She has not worked with Lythgoe since.
In a statement at the time of the suit, Lythgoe said “While Paula’s history of erratic behavior is well known, I can’t pretend to understand exactly why she would file a lawsuit that she must know is untrue.”
This story was originally published by The Associated Press.
When Ella Langley’s “You Look Like You Love Me” featuring Riley Green hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart dated Dec. 14, it became the first song by a woman in 2024 to top the tally.
It also achieved the feat in 20 weeks, which is a veritable sprint given how long it can take songs to reach the summit on the slow-moving chart. But there was no denying the sexy track’s catchiness and uniqueness with its spoken-word verses and the chemistry between Langley and Green.
Langley, who is signed to SAWGOD/Columbia Records out of New York and Green, who is signed to Big Machine Label Group’s Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment imprint, were already on tour together when the idea for the flirty duet came about. Langley and her co-writer, Aaron Raitiere, had written the song as a solo track, but “Ella and Aaron were wondering what it would be like with the male perspective,” says Ryan Dokke, senior vp of Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment. “She asked [Riley] if he’d be up for writing a verse or two and it turned out to be something pretty special. They debuted it on tour together.” The song is also featured on Langley’s debut album, hungover, which came out in August.
Trending on Billboard
The song, which the pair performed during the CMA Awards, snagged the Country Music Association Awards trophy for vocal event of the year over such powerhouse contenders as Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help” and Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ “I Remember Everything.” That recognition helped propel the song from 7-1 on the Country Airplay chart and earned Dokke the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Dokke, whose team worked the song to country radio, talks about the steps that led to the song’s chart-topping success and what it means for rising stars Langley and Green.
Langley is signed to SAWGOD/Columbia and Green is signed to Big Machine Label Group’s Nashville Harbor. How did you work with Columbia in taking the song to country radio since Langley is the lead artist on the track?
Ella and I first met in 2021, and I knew immediately that I wanted to work with her in some capacity. When the potential opportunity to work with Columbia came into view, [BMLG founder/CEO] Scott Borchetta and [Nashville Harbor president/CEO] Jimmy Harnen immediately jumped in to land the plane. For me, I think having that relationship with Ella and her team as well as having Riley on the track made it easy for our team to dive in and get to work. [Columbia Records executive vp/head of promotion] Peter Gray and the entire Columbia team were fantastic partners. They placed complete confidence in our ability to move the song up the charts and cheered on the Nashville Harbor team the whole way!
The track jumped 7-1 on Country Airplay last Friday: the six-spot leap ties for the third-greatest to the top in the chart’s nearly 35-year history. What specific steps did you take to accomplish such a leap?
Ella and Riley delivering a BIG HIT song was certainly the biggest factor in its success at radio! Our promotion team at Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment (Andrew Thoen, Liz Santana, Stella Prado) worked really closely with our country radio partners. There were several viral moments along the way that helped the song have more opportunities., The buzz around the CMA Awards win and performance was certainly important, but one of the biggest factors in making this historic leap was Ella herself, putting in the work – especially in the final stretch. She picked up the phone and was on the air talking with stations well into the eleventh hour.
You mention the CMA Awards performance/win and the tour. What other moments helped build momentum?
There were several moments that created a lot of chatter: The performance [opening for Morgan Wallen] at Hyde Park in London, which drew the UK’s biggest country crowd in history, and even when they popped up at Loser’s Bar & Grill in Nashville with Jamey Johnson over the summer. Seeing the passion for this song following those performances was what drove the demand for it at radio and it just continued to grow from there. They performed it on the TODAY Show, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and the CMA Awards and each time we saw the numbers spike.
“You Look Like You Love Me” is the first song performed/co-performed by a woman to reach No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in 2024. Langley ends the longest break – 51 weeks – between women (including groups with prominent female vocals) topping the chart since a record 61-week shutout in 2003-04. What does that say about the difficulty women are still facing?
Honestly, I was surprised that Ella was the first of the year. With women like Carly Pearce, Lainey Wilson, Carrie Underwood, Kelsea Ballerini, Megan Moroney – who just won the CMA Awards’ best new artist and of course, Miranda Lambert who are all making and releasing culture shaping music and are filling arenas – it put me on my heels for a second. I’m optimistic that we’ll see more opportunities in the coming year. Just too much great music for there not to be.
This song includes spoken verses. Did you face any resistance at radio since that is more a throwback to the ‘60s and ‘70s? Did you think about releasing a version without the spoken-word parts?
The song started with such red- hot heat and had such undeniable passion from fans on the internet and it was immediately streaming so well, the spoken verses were never really an issue.
Green also has a top 15 hit with “Damn Good Day to Leave.” How are these two songs setting him up to take him to the next level in his career?
Riley is in such a great place and there is so much demand right now. It all comes down to building a connection with fans. These songs might connect to two different audiences, and he wins with both. He is wrapping his biggest year yet and already we can see 2025 being even bigger – with a red- hot album, sold out tours in the U.S. and the U.K., a rabid internet following, and the respect of his peers – Riley Green’s time is definitely here!
Will you have any continued involvement in Langley’s country radio work or was that a one-off because of Green?
I think right now we are still celebrating a BIG WIN. That question will answer itself in time. Regardless, the Nashville Harbor team is proud to have been a part of Ella’s introduction to Country radio and we will continue to be huge fans of Ella and her music. She’ll also be on tour with Riley next year, so we’ll be close by cheering her on either way.
A year ago, SiriusXM launched a new streaming app filled with original and licensed content from its satellite radio service and set the price at $9.99 — far below the roughly $16 average monthly revenue it takes in per satellite subscriber. The hope was that a relatively affordable price and an improved app would help SiriusXM reach younger consumers and expand beyond its core in-car satellite radio listeners.
The new app was “just the beginning,” CEO Jennifer Witz said at the time, adding that SiriusXM would “continue to iterate and develop our product offerings throughout the next year and beyond as we strive to deliver our subscribers the best listening experience on the go, in the car, and wherever they choose to tune in.” The company’s satellite radio business was built on vehicles. If you buy a new or used car, you’ll likely get a free SiriusXM trial that’s extremely effective at convincing people to subscribe once their trial is over. The new streaming app was intended to attract people who would listen outside of the car.
But selling the radio experience in a smartphone app didn’t go well. As it turns out, the streaming app hasn’t produced a good return on marketing spending, Witz said on Tuesday (Dec. 10). Appearing at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, the executive cited “slow progress” in turning free trials into long-term retention. As a result, SiriusXM has already cut back its marketing spend on the app and expects to have fewer streaming trials — and thus fewer subscribers — in the future. That was a worse assessment than what Witz delivered on SiriusXM’s Aug. 2 earnings call. At that time, when asked about conversion rates for the app, Witz said they had been “challenged” but maintained positivity, adding that there had been some “positive results” with first-time trial adopters and that the company was “confident” it could attract “a different audience” that will be “incremental” to the existing car-based business.
Trending on Billboard
Now, after its underwhelming experiment with the app, SiriusXM will, in Witz’s words, be “leaning into our strengths.” In other words, the company is putting its focus back on satellite radio and the in-automobile listening experience. In alignment with that strategy, the company also announced the departure of Joseph Inzerillo, the chief product and technology officer who played an instrumental role in the app’s launch.
For all the strengths of the app — curated stations, celebrity musician stations, a smorgasbord of audio programming — the company gave up its competitive advantage when it tried to compete outside of satellite radio and the automobile. After all, the company is the lone satellite radio operator and, given the cost and complexity of launching satellites into orbit, has the market to itself. But when leaving the safety of satellite, it’s hard to beat Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Amazon Music at their own game. These are streaming-native platforms built for consumers’ desire for interactivity, while SiriusXM’s app attempts to fit a one-way satellite radio experience into a two-way, interactive medium. In the end, paid radio turned out to be a tough sell to a generation that has grown up on on-demand streaming.
So, SiriusXM is going to focus on what it does best, and in-car listening gives the company a huge audience to work with. It currently has 33 million subscribers and, according to MusicWatch’s Russ Crupnick, reaches 65 million total listeners. In an email to Billboard, radio consultant Andy Meadows said he believes “SiriusXM is better suited to compete for those coveted in-car listeners so [Tuesday’s announcement] makes sense from that standpoint.” Crupnick also sees in-car listening as a point of strength for SiriusXM, pointing to the uniqueness of the SiriusXM product as a distinct advantage. “The ease of use, breadth of content, and curation position them as far superior to terrestrial radio, and in a different place than music streaming or podcasts,” he says.
Building on in-car satellite listening, the SiriusXM streaming app will become more of a complementary product. “There is real opportunity with 360L,” said Witz on Tuesday, referring to the company’s in-car platform that serves as a dual satellite radio/streaming product. Because 360L includes streaming, it allows SiriusXM to serve personalized — a.k.a. more lucrative — ads and provide more targeted — a.k.a. more expensive — ads for advertisers. Of the app, she said it can provide data that helps SiriusXM determine spends on programming that resonates with listeners, given that satellite receivers are a one-way technology that doesn’t provide granular insights into listening behaviors. Similar to 360L, the app can also provide targeted advertisements.
For customers, bundling satellite and streaming costs as low as $25 per month. That’s about double the cost of an individual Spotify subscription, but SiriusXM subscribers can withstand the price. According to Witz, platinum satellite subscriptions, which cost upward of $29 per month, account for “about a third” of the current subscriber base. And providing the best of satellite and streaming will help SiriusXM compete with a “newer breed of streaming products” on Americans’ car dashes, says Meadows. “Anything SiriusXM, and traditional radio for that matter, can do to look, sound and function better across all devices is in their best interest long term.”
What a year it’s been for the music business. With 2024 drawing to a swift close, Billboard put together a series of year-end stories running down the biggest developments in the worlds of record labels, publishing companies, live music, music law, radio, AI and sustainability over the past 12 months. And we certainly weren’t lacking […]
TikTok is taking the Canadian government to court.
Last month, the popular social media app was ordered by the federal government to “wind down” its operations in Canada following a national security review.
“We will challenge this order in court,” TikTok said at the time.
Now, the company is following through on the promise. TikTok Canada has filed notice of application for judicial review, which is an official legal challenge to the decision.
“This order would eliminate the jobs and livelihoods of our hundreds of dedicated local employees – who support the community of more than 14 million monthly Canadian users on TikTok, including businesses, advertisers, creators, and initiatives developed especially for Canada,” the company wrote on its official website. “We believe it’s in the best interest of Canadians to find a meaningful solution and ensure that a local team remains in place, alongside the TikTok platform.”
Trending on Billboard
TikTok posted the whole legal filing on its website, which you can read here. The document breaks down the order of events, suggesting TikTok cooperated with the security review but was surprised by the abrupt announcement.
The company is requesting a court date to challenge the decision in Vancouver, B.C., one of the two locations of its offices. The other is in Toronto.
The filing calls the order “grossly disproportionate” and says it “will result in the termination of hundreds of employees in Canada and the potential termination of over 250,000 contracts with Canadian-based advertisers.”
The legal filing also focuses on the impact to those creators who use the platform, stating that the order “will cause the destruction of significant economic opportunities and intangible benefits to Canadian creators, artists and businesses, and the Canadian cultural community more broadly.”
The federal government made the decision to shut down TikTok’s Canadian operations following a review of its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd., calling the operation “injurious to national security.” Canadian users would still be able to use and access TikTok, but the company would be forced to close its offices in Canada.
The filing follows a new law in the United States that would require ByteDance to divest TikTok by January 19, 2025 or face a ban in the country. – Richard Trapunski
≈
Charlotte Day Wilson to Play Special Orchestral Concert in Toronto in 2025
Charlotte Day Wilson is preparing for a hometown concert that she calls “a dream opportunity.”
On Feb. 28, 2025, the Grammy nominated R&B/soul singer-songwriter will play a Red Bull Symphonic concert with members of the the Symphonic Orchestra at Roy Thomson Hall, the home of the acclaimed Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Charlotte Day
Emily Lipson
Tickets go on sale Friday, December 13, 2024 at redbull.ca/symphonic.
Previous editions of Red Bull Symphonic in Atlanta and Los Angeles have featured Rick Ross and Metro Boomin, plus special guests including John Legend, Swae Lee and more.
It will be the first orchestral concert for Wilson, and she’s approaching it as a full vision of her current state as a musician.
“I want people to come away from it understanding the musical makeup that I have and of my sense of self within music,” Charlotte Day Wilson tells Billboard Canada over Zoom from her apartment in Toronto.
She’s still in her early 30s, but Wilson has been recording and performing for well over a decade. With two albums and multiple EPs, she has a full body of work to play from, and she’s excited to rethink it in a new context.
Her 2024 album, Cyan Blue, has been nominated for a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, and though Jack Rochon was the primary engineer, Wilson says the two of them made everything in the room together as “an exchange of two people producing and engineering and writing all in tandem.”
Charlotte Day Wilson’s soulful voice and songwriting chops have become a secret weapon for many renowned musicians. She’s performed and collaborated with Kaytranada, Daniel Caesar, Mustafa, BadBadNotGood and Nelly Furtado, and one of her songs was even sampled by Drake.
The Grammy recognition and the ability to do a full-scale orchestral concert feels like a mark of wider recognition in a field that can often include a lot of isolation. It also feels like a “maturing moment,” she says, which fits her mindset right now.
“It’s something I think about a lot as an artist,” she says. “In an industry that is ruthlessly obsessed with youth, how do we graduate into a next chapter of life and still maintain our integrity and relevance. That’s something I think about all the time, and it’s something I want to approach really deliberately.” – R.T.
≈
Patrick Watson’s ‘Je te laisserai des mots’ Becomes First French-Language Song To Hit A Billion Spotify Streams
Canadian singer-songwriter Patrick Watson has made history on Spotify.
His 2010 song “Je te laisserai des mots” is now the first French-language song to hit a billion streams on the platform.
The song, a wistful composition led by piano and strings, was first written for the 2009 film Mères et Filles.
Listeners clearly agreed that the song has a cinematic quality: it went viral in 2021 and 2022, used by thousands of TikTokers — including Justin Bieber — to soundtrack serene or sad moments in their own lives during Covid restrictions.
Watson joins Bieber and other Canadian artists like Drake, Tate McRae, Alessia Cara and Shawn Mendes in Spotify’s Billions Club. Most of the other Canadian members are major label signees with a pop-oriented sound, which makes Watson — an acclaimed indie singer-songwriter represented by Montreal’s Secret City Records — a more unusual entry into the club.
“Je te laisserai des mots” was the most-streamed French language track both in Canada and globally this year on Spotify, while the veteran songwriter and producer is the No. 6 most popular Québécois artist on Spotify this year in Canada. He finishes alongside Quebec legends Les Cowboys Fringants and Celine Dion, pop star Charlotte Cardin and rappers Souldia and Enima.
Spotify notes that since 2019, listening to music in French has jumped by 94% on the app — which means after Watson, another Billions Club French-language song could only be a matter of time. – Rosie Long Decter
≈
Music Business Year In Review
Here we go again.
On Dec. 9, the technology activist group Fight for the Future announced that 300 musicians signed an open letter denouncing the lawsuit that labels filed against the Internet Archive for copying and offering free streams of old recordings under its “Great 78” project. The letter essentially says that labels need to focus less on profit and more on supporting creators, by raising streaming service royalty rates — and partnering with “valuable cultural stewards” like the Internet Archive.
This is exactly and entirely backward. Labels have to focus on making money — they’re companies, duh — and they are always trying to raise streaming royalties in a way that would help them, as well as artists. It would help if streaming services raised prices, which they would have an easier time doing if less unlicensed music was available for free on both for-profit pirate sites and services like the Internet Archive. And one of the worst possible groups to offer advice on such matters is Fight for the Future, which has consistently opposed the kind of copyright protection that lets creators control the availability of their work.
Most people think of the Internet Archive, if they think of it at all, as the nonprofit organization that runs the Wayback Machine, which maintains a searchable archive of past and present Internet sites. But it also preserves and makes available other media — sometimes in ways that push the boundaries of copyright. After the label lawsuit against the Internet Archive was shifted to alternative dispute resolution in late July, an appeals court affirmed book publishers’ victory in their lawsuit against the organization for making electronic copies of books available without a license under the self-styled concept of “controlled digital lending.” On Dec. 4, the deadline passed for the Internet Archive to file a cert petition with the Supreme Court, making that decision final.
Trending on Billboard
It sometimes seems that part of the purpose of the Internet Archive, which was founded in 1996 by technology activist Brewster Kahle, is to push the boundaries of copyright. In 2006, Kahle sued the government for changing the copyright system from opt-in to opt-out. (His side lost in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.) Later, the Internet Archive began buying and scanning books and distributing digital files of the contents on a temporary basis, according to how many copies of the volume the organization owned. (The digital copies became unusable after a certain amount of time.) During the pandemic, it launched a “National Emergency Library” and announced it would begin lending out more digital copies than the number of physical copies of books it owned. Two months later, three major publishers and one other sued, arguing that this controlled digital lending — a theoretical model that’s not recognized in U.S. law — infringed copyright.
The Internet Archive argued that it was a library and that its digital lending qualified as “transformative use,” an aspect of the fair use exception to copyright law that in some cases allows copyrighted works to be used for a different purpose. (The thumbnail images seen in search engine results qualify as a transformative use, for example, since they are used to help users find the images themselves.) The copyright exceptions for libraries and archives are very specific, though, and it’s hard to imagine how borrowed digital copies of books are so different from the digital books that have become an increasingly important part of the publishing business. The Second Circuit Appeals Court treated the dispute as a straight fair use case — it barely mentioned the National Emergency Library — and ruled for the publishers.
“Fair use is an important part of the law, and no one would disagree,” says Maria Pallante, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, the trade group that handled the lawsuit. “But this this was a gross distortion of fair use — they wanted to normalize that it’s OK to reproduce millions of works.”
The label lawsuit — Sony Music, Universal Music Group and Concord sued under the auspices of the RIAA — could end up being just as straightforward. (Kahle is also personally named in the lawsuit, along with other entities.) The Great 78 Project makes 400,000 recordings digitized from 78 rpm records available to stream online. The idea is to “make this less commonly available music accessible to researchers,” according to the project’s web site.
The reality, the labels’ lawsuit alleges, is that among the recordings available are Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” and Duke Ellington’s “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing),” all of which have considerable commercial life on streaming services. “The Internet Archive’s ‘Great 78’ project is a smokescreen for industrial-scale copyright infringement of some of the most iconic recordings ever made,” RIAA chief legal officer Ken Doroshow said in a statement. The Internet Archive did not respond to a request for comment.
The Internet Archive seems to be appealing both of these cases to magazines, making the case that the $621 million RIAA lawsuit threatens “the web’s collective memory” (Wired) and the “soul of the Internet” (Rolling Stone). Maybe. But neither book publishers nor labels object to the Internet Archive’s actual archive of the actual Internet. In both pieces, Kahle positions himself as a librarian and a preservationist, never mind that “White Christmas” doesn’t need preserving and that the Music Modernization Act has a provision that allows libraries to offer certain unavailable pre-1972 recordings if they follow a process. (The labels’ complaint says the organization didn’t do this; Kahle told Rolling Stone that “we talked to people, it wasn’t a problem.”) The fact that some of the recordings are scratchy, which Kahle and his allies make much of, is legally beside the point.
It’s reasonable to hope that the labels don’t put the Internet Archive out of business, because the Wayback Machine is so valuable. But it’s also reasonable to wonder why Kahle let the Internet Archive take such big legal risks in the first place. If the Wayback Machine is so important, why distribute books and music in a way that could be found to infringe copyright, with the enormous statutory damages that come with that? Unless, of course, that’s actually part of the organization’s work in the first place.
Some of these issues can get pretty abstract, but the way they’re settled could have serious consequences in the years to come. If one wanted to assemble a collection of scanned books in order to train an artificial intelligence, one might go about it in exactly the way Kahle did. Same goes for old recordings. Indeed, artificial intelligence companies are already arguing that mass copying of media doesn’t infringe copyright because it qualifies as “transformative,” and thus as fair use. There is no evidence that the Internet Archive copied books and recordings for this reason, but it’s certainly possible that the organization might have wanted to set precedents to make it easier for AI companies to argue that they use copyrighted work for training purposes compensating rightsholders.
The letter from Fight for the Future points out that “the music industry cannot survive without musicians.” But there’s a chance that the kind of large-scale copying of music that it’s convincing musicians to defend could represent a first step toward the technology business doing exactly that.
Drop that tonearm on this week’s Executive Turntable, Billboard’s compendium of promotions, hirings, exits and firings — and all things in between — across music.
Read on for personnel news but don’t forget to cast your vote for the Power 100 Players’ Choice Award, plus peruse our rundown of the richest music investors who made their bones outside the industry (hint: one rhymes with Lauren Tuffet), our weekly interview series spotlighting a single c-suiter and our calendar of notable goings-on.
Virgin Music Group named Mark Robinson to the newly created role of executive vice president of global business and legal affairs. In this role, Robinson will lead global business affairs and corporate strategy, supporting dealmakers worldwide to establish needle-moving partnerships. Robinson brings extensive experience, previously managing music business affairs for brands like MTV, CBS, BET, CMT and Paramount+ during a tenure Paramount Global. His career also includes serving as General Counsel at 300 Entertainment and BMG North America, as well as nearly a decade in Warner Music Group’s business affairs division. Based in New York City, Robinson will report to co-CEOs Ned Pastor and JT Myers, both of whom he worked with previously. “I am thrilled to re-unite with Nat and JT who I worked with previously and deeply respect,” he said. “Virgin is building a next generation music company, and I am looking forward to working with their world-class team on the wide variety of exciting global deals they have in the pipeline.”
Trending on Billboard
Former Warner Music Nashville co-chair and co-president Ben Kline joined Red Light Management’s executive leadership team in Nashville as a senior executive, reporting to Red Light founder Coran Capshaw. Kline will help oversee Red Light’s Nashville operations, in addition to focusing on new business opportunities for the company and its artists. Kline’s career has also included senior leadership roles at Ingrooves, Rostrum Records and UMG Nashville. “We are very happy to welcome Ben,” said Capshaw. “His experience and reputation within the Nashville music community make him a great addition to the Red Light team.” –Jessica Nicholson
SiriusXM Holdings named Wayne Thorsen as its new executive vp and chief operating officer, effective Dec. 16. Reporting to CEO Jennifer Witz, Thorsen will oversee product and technology functions, commercial activities, business development, consumer marketing and corporate strategy. His appointment — the company has never had a COO before — coincides with the departure of chief product and technology officer Joseph Inzerillo, who played a pivotal role in modernizing SiriusXM’s technology platform and launching its new streaming app before departing to pursue other opportunities. Thorsen brings extensive experience in product development, strategic partnerships, and business leadership. At ADT Inc., he led teams responsible for innovation and product engineering, spearheading the ADT+ platform and Trusted Neighbor product. His career also includes senior roles at Google, SoFi, Microsoft, Viacom, Telefónica Digital and BlueKai. CEO Jennifer Witz praised Thorsen’s expertise in business development and innovation. “Wayne is a seasoned leader who brings significant experience driving business development and innovation, and he is well-positioned to help guide the company through this next chapter as we sharpen our focus on delivering meaningful results alongside greater efficiency,” she said.
Crispin Hunt, a multi-platinum songwriter and producer, has been elected president of the PRS Members’ Council, starting Jan. 1. Known for his work with artists like Florence and The Machine, Lana Del Rey and Rod Stewart, Hunt has a strong background in advocacy — he’s been on the PRS Members’ Council since 2019, chaired the UK’s Ivors Academy and co-led the Featured Artists Coalition. As president, Hunt aims to champion the interests of PRS for Music’s songwriters, composers and publishers, and strengthen connections between music creators, the Members’ Council and PRS leadership. Hunt takes over from Michelle Escoffery, the council’s inaugural president, who launched initiatives on rights protection, education and career development.
Round Hill Music Royalty Partners appointed Katie Kowinski as chief of investor relations and business development. Reporting to CEO Josh Gruss, Kowinski will focus on expanding investor relationships and raising capital, supported by investor relations director Kellie Kirschner. Kowinski brings over 20 years of marketing and fundraising expertise in private equity and investment management, having previously led capital markets and music IP strategies at Raven Capital Management, plus roles at Kairos Ventures and Artisan Partners. Since its founding in 2010, Round Hill has raised and deployed over $1.1 billion, leveraging an integrated asset and music IP management platform with teams in London, Los Angeles, Nashville, and New York. The firm said its portfolio of music rights is currently valued at $900 million. Gruss emphasized music rights’ attractive investment opportunities and highlighted Kowinski’s experience as key to advancing Round Hill’s goals. “Round Hill prides itself as having been one of the first movers in the music rights investment space,” he added. “This has enabled us to build a trusted reputation throughout the music industry while achieving numerous successful exits for our investors over the years.”
Peermusic appointed Harry Knyt as head of A&R for the U.K. Based in London, Knyt will oversee signing, development and creative strategies for Peermusic’s UK publishing roster, leading the A&R team and reporting directly to managing director Ralph W. Peer. Knyt brings over a decade of experience from roles at Insanity Group, Milk & Honey, Sony Music/RCA, and NQ/Sony Music Publishing. His career highlights include managing Grammy-winning songwriters and producers and contributing to UK chart-topping albums and singles. Ralph W. Peer praised Knyt’s industry relationships, creative vision and dedication to artist and writer development, aligning with Peermusic’s nearly 100-year legacy. “He is an exceptional A&R executive with incredible taste, focus, and the ability to take our creative strategy in exciting directions,” Peer said of Knyt. “The opportunity to bring Harry on board to continue our legacy of artist/writer development a perfect fit for our creative culture at Peermusic U.K.”
Condé Nast has hired Antonious Porch away from SoundCloud, where he’s been general counsel for the last six and a half years, as well as chief diversity officer for part of that time. He is set to join the publishing giant as general counsel in February — there he will manage all legal, business affairs, policy and compliance matters, and serve as corporate secretary. (Condé hired a new DEI chief in November.) Before joining Soundcloud in early 2018, he was general counsel at Shazam, aiding in its transformation and eventual sale to Apple. Porch also held leadership roles at Viacom and began his career at Latham & Watkins. Replacing Porch as SoundCloud’s top legal advisor will be Ama Walton, who joined the company in early 2021 after several years handling legal affairs at BMG and EMI.
BOARD SHORTS: A2IM appointed Steven Hill, head of North American & global marketing at Warp Records, as chair of the indie label trade org’s 2024-2025 board of directors. Hill joins treasurer Tony Alexander, co-founder of Made in Memphis Entertainment, and secretary Nabil Ayers, president of Beggars Group, on the rxecutive committee. Hill supports a diverse range of artists at Warp Records, including Aphex Twin and Brian Eno. The new board also features industry leaders like Terry McBride, CEO of Nettwerk Music Group, and Louis Posen, founder and president of Hopeless Records … The AIMP released its ’25-’26 election results. In Atlanta, Tony D. Alexander was re-elected as chapter president, with Crystal Morris and Tye Huntley as co-veeps. David Alexander will serve as treasurer, and Cheryl Potts remains secretary. In Los Angeles, Frank Handy will succeed Marc Caruso as chapter president, with Eric Polin as vp, Yvonne Drazan as secretary, and David Quan as treasurer. In Nashville, Ree Guyer steps down as president but remains on the board, while Duane Hobson and Dave Pacula join as new members. In New York, Debbie Rose takes over as chapter president, with Jeff Pachman as vp, Art Levy as secretary, and outgoing prez Michael Lau as treasurer. A national chair will be selected in January.
Sun Label Group, encompassing Sun Records, Gaither Music Group, Green Hill Productions, and emeraldwave by Green Hill, announced key promotions and hires to support its continued growth. Promotions include Chad Smith as senior creative director, overseeing all creative output, and Bryce Egan as marketing manager for Sun Records, Green Hill Productions and emeraldwave. Olivia DeMasters assumes the new role of senior manager of catalog development, focusing on expanding the group’s catalog. Hayley Tolley is now social media and marketing manager for Gaither Music Group, managing engagement with Gaither’s extensive social media following. New hires include Mary Clark Webb as social media and community coordinator and Jeremy Maier as digital streaming coordinator for Green Hill, along with Maggie Hairston as marketing coordinator for Gaither Music Group.
Amanda Samii and Sam Schulman
Ziggy Chareton
Good Play Music, a new Los Angeles-based firm specializing in career management, publishing and development for songwriters, producers, artists, and creative directors, has launched. Founded by Amanda Samii, a veteran A&R pro known for her work with artists like Rogét Chahayed, ASHE and Jon Bellion, the company’s mission is to “elevate our clients’ talents, break down barriers, and spark meaningful conversations that inspire change in the entertainment industry.” Samii brings experience from Capitol Records and Kobalt Music Publishing. Joining Samii is Sam Schulman, a notable talent in management and A&R who has worked with stars such as ASHE and FINNEAS. Good Play’s roster already features acclaimed songwriters and visionary photographers with over 1 billion streams collectively, including Annie Schindel, CASHÆ, Matt Hall, David OD, Renee Cox, Elizabeth Miranda, Bradley Rittmann and Hunter Moreno. You can contact Samii at amanda@goodplaymusic.com.
Slipstream Music named Jonathan Lane as vice president of sync and partnerships at the music licensing platform. With over 15 years in music licensing and supervision, Lane will spearhead sync and partnership strategies, collaborating with networks, streaming platforms, production companies and ad agencies to deliver music-related solutions for global content creators. Lane previously served as vp and head of TV and film at Audio Network, where he oversaw U.S. operations, and as senior director of sync and licensing at 5 Alarm Music, which was recently acquired by Slipstream alongside Jingle Punks and Cavendish Music. This appointment supports Slipstream’s mission to redefine music licensing through strategic acquisitions and partnerships, including collaborations with Kobalt, to provide creator-safe music for digital and traditional media clients. CEO Dan Demole lauded Lane’s expertise and “deep industry connections,” saying they’ll “help us unlock new opportunities and strengthen our position as the best possible partner for creators, brands, and studios.”
River House Artists promoted Kayla Adkins to senior director of creative/A&R, where she will continue developing and managing the publishing roster of new and established songwriters. Adkins joined River House in 2018 and has worked with artists and writers including Pillbox Patti, Austin Snell and Hudson Westbrook. Lauren Lieu has joined the publishing team as director of creative, helping to support River House’s roster. Lieu’s career has included time at ole Music (now Anthem Entertainment) and Play It Again Music. –J.N.
Integrity Music tapped Stone Meyer as vice president of music publishing. Meyer previously worked at Capitol Christian Music Group and The Bridge Church, where he was executive pastor of worship and creative. At Integrity, Meyer will lead the creative publishing team and expand the song catalog. In addition, Taylor Agan was promoted to creative director and will report to Meyer. Agan, a Dove- and Grammy-nominated songwriter, joined Integrity in 2022 as A&R manager. Finally, Taylor Brady, who also joined Integrity in 2022, transitioned from business development director to A&R director. Both Brady and Meyer will report to Blaine Barcus, president of Integrity Music. These appointments aim to provide artists and songwriters with the necessary resources and support to succeed in the evolving music industry.
Deborah Mannis-Gardner and Pär Almqvist launched AYO Music Group, a copyright administration company specializing in global management of publishing, neighboring rights and recordings. AYO focuses on organizing and protecting music copyrights while educating rightsholders on maximizing licensing opportunities. Mannis-Gardner, owner and president of DMG Clearances, and Almqvist, co-founder and ex-CEO of Tracklib, collaborated with SyncLodge chief legal officer Stacey Haber to launch AYO. Since its soft launch, AYO has built a catalog exceeding one billion streams, featuring tracks from A$AP Ant, MC Lyte, and numerous estates. The company also offers free webinars on music copyright and will collaborate with IAFAR on Jan. 21 for a session on neighboring rights and producer payments. AYO aims to empower rightsholders with knowledge and tools to optimize their revenue potential.
Stephen Stallings is the new senior director of creative sync and advertising at Silver Side Productions. Based in New York, Stallings will report to head of music licensing Craig O’Neill and oversee ad pitching for the company’s diverse catalog, featuring 1950s-1970s recordings and independent artists. This appointment aligns with Silver Side’s efforts to expand in advertising and diversify its roster. With over a decade of experience, Stallings previously served as an in-house music supervisor at Dentsu, managing music licensing and production for major brands like American Express, Verizon, and United Airlines. Stallings expressed enthusiasm for the role, highlighting the opportunity to reconnect audiences with classic tracks while exploring innovative sync opportunities for Silver Side’s catalog. Silver Side Productions owner and co-founder Mike Locke added, “His knack for pitching and deep knowledge of both the music and ad industries perfectly aligns with Silver Side’s sync-driven business ethos and is integral to our next phase of growth.”
ICYMI:
Tim Leiweke
CD Baby, one of the biggest do-it-yourself distribution services in the industry, laid off members of its creator services team last week … plus Oak View Group chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke sat down with our friends in Canada to talk up the company’s strategy there, his dream of a national stadium and being “dragged into” the DOJ’s lawsuit back in the U.S.
Last Week’s Turntable: A Goldenvoice Legend Retires