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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.”
After a weeks-long shower of bad publicity and multiple artist withdrawals, Australia’s Bluesfest has removed the controversial rock band Sticky Fingers from its lineup.
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The popular, and long-running, music festival today (March 2) issued a statement in which organizers remarked, “Bluesfest cannot, sadly, continue to support Sticky Fingers by having them play our 2023 edition, and we apologise to those artists, sponsors and any others we involved in this matter through our mistaken belief that forgiveness and redemption are the rock on which our society is built.”
In recent days, festival director Peter Noble had doubled-down on his decision to book the polarizing band, despite growing calls from within the music community to boycott the event.
Melbourne prog-rock outfit King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and two-time Australian Music Prize winner Sampa The Great recently withdrew from the lineup in protest to the inclusion of Sticky Fingers, with King Gizz issuing a statement remarking that “as a band and as human beings, we stand against misogyny, racism, transphobia and violence.”
Sticky Fingers has a reputation that, well, sticks.
The issues relate to the past behavior of lead singer Dylan Frost, who has been accused of threatening Indigenous musician Thelma Plum and making racist remarks at a gig featuring Indigenous punk band Dispossessed.
Sticky Fingers took a break after those incidents allegedly occurred in 2016, reuniting again in 2018.
Frost went on to address his mental health battles, and issued a statement in which he said he was “wholeheartedly against racism, and so is the band,” and that he doesn’t “condone or in any way excuse violence against women, straight up, I never have and I never will.”
Noble and Bluesfest’s statement claims “the narrative that they continue to deserve to be cancelled, as well as anyone who publicly supports them, is difficult to accept, wherein a portion of society and media passes eternal judgment toward those, in this case, a diagnosed mentally ill person whom we feel doesn’t deserve the continued public scrutiny he’s being given.”
The message continues, “We thank everyone who has contacted us and advised their support in this matter, especially those suffering from a mental illness who feel they cannot have their illness supported in a manner whereby they feel included in society.”
It’s not the first time Australian event organizers have performed a u-turn on Sticky Fingers.
In 2018, the band withdrew from the Newcastle fest This That, with promoters explaining at the time that “if their inclusion began to impact negatively on the other artists performing and our Newcastle and wider communities, that it would be best if they refrain from performing. That’s the decision we have both taken today.”
Sticky Fingers, notes Bluesfest in its statement, “has done so many good deeds that have never been reported, including building and funding recording studios and music education programs in disadvantaged regional communities.”
After enduring a two-year obstacle course which included the pandemic, floods, border closures, public health orders, and more, the 2022 edition of Bluesfest welcomed more than 100,000 revelers.
The 2023 edition of Bluesfest is set for April 6-10 at Byron Events Farm, with headliners including Gang of Youths, Paolo Nutini, Tash Sultana, Bonnie Raitt, the Doobie Brothers and more.
Read the full statement from Bluesfest below.
Bluesfest Byron Bay Statement Regarding Sticky Fingers
We are sad to announce that Bluesfest has decided that Sticky Fingers is to step off the Bluesfest 2023 line-up.
Bluesfest cannot, sadly, continue to support Sticky Fingers by having them play our 2023 edition, and we apologise to those artists, sponsors and any others we involved in this matter through our mistaken belief that forgiveness and redemption are the rock on which our society is built.
The narrative that they continue to deserve to be cancelled, as well as anyone who publicly supports them, is difficult to accept, wherein a portion of society and media passes eternal judgment toward those, in this case, a diagnosed mentally ill person whom we feel doesn’t deserve the continued public scrutiny he’s being given.
We thank everyone who has contacted us and advised their support in this matter, especially those suffering from a mental illness who feel they cannot have their illness supported in a manner whereby they feel included in society.
Sticky Fingers has done so many good deeds that have never been reported, including building and funding recording studios and music education programs in disadvantaged regional communities.
We will now move on, put this behind us and continue to plan and present our best-ever edition of Bluesfest… proudly.
For those that wish to know more, there is a carefully researched article in The Australian in 2018 that took the trouble to examine the facts, unlike a lot of the current published material.
The president and co-founder of PodcastOne, Chris “Kit” Gray, is facing a lawsuit filed by his former executive assistant, who says she was fired after refusing to ship cannabis products legally purchased in California to his home in Florida where cannabis is illegal. PodcastOne is also named as a defendant in the complaint.
Cherri Bell, an executive assistant with more than 20 years of experience including seven years at PodcastOne — which was purchased by media company LiveOne in 2020 — alleges that she was terminated on Feb. 10 in retaliation for refusing two requests by Gray to ship cannabis vape pens, gummies and other THC products across state lines through FedEx.
The suit, filed by Bell’s attorney Timothy McCaffrey Jr. in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday (Feb. 24), claims that after relocating his residence from California to Florida “in or around November 2021,” Gray “began planning trips to the Los Angeles area beginning in January 2022” and, following each of those visits, asked Bell “to ship various items to his home in Florida in random boxes that she was instructed to collect from around the office” using the company’s FedEx account.
“On or around” Oct. 18, 2022, the suit continues, Gray sent Bell a text message requesting that she ship some clothing to his family in Florida along with another package he left at the office. “In this text he also thanked her and mentioned again that he did not want to take the contents [of the package] on the plane and that he was nervous keeping it at the office,” the complaint reads. Inside the package, Bell claims she found “smoking paraphernalia from a marijuana dispensary including vape pens and vials” and subsequently decided not to ship the items after determining it was illegal to send drugs and drug paraphernalia across state lines.
Bell was right: While marijuana possession is legal in a number of states, possession and transportation are barred at the federal level under the Controlled Substances Act. Using FedEx as a drug courier to ship more than 50 grams of cannabis can land a person in federal prison for five years.
When Gray allegedly asked about the package weeks later, Bell says she responded via text that she did not feel comfortable sending the envelope. Gray then allegedly responded, “‘Oh I wouldn’t sweat that,’ completely dismissive of Plaintiff’s concern even though he had admitted to Plaintiff that he was nervous about carrying the package and leaving it at the office,” the complaint reads. Gray also allegedly told Bell he wished she would have told him earlier, “since apparently his supply was running low,” and that he had shipped “similar items approximately ten times in the past.”
Two days later, Gray allegedly asked Bell to drop off the package, along with a few bags of “gummy bears,” with another female employee, who would take care of the shipment. Following this incident, Bell claims she “noticed a definite change in her working relationship with Gray and the way he treated her,” according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that Gray began to retaliate against Bell in the days and weeks that followed, including by delaying repayment of her expense report, giving her negative performance reviews and attempting to isolate her from the rest of the staff. While Bell was on medical leave for work-induced stress, it continues, Gray terminated her.
Bell is suing Gray and PodcastOne for illegal retaliation, wrongful termination and failure to pay wages upon termination.
Billboard made multiple attempts to reach Gray and PodcastOne/LiveOne officials but did not receive a response.
Generative artificial intelligence is currently one of the hottest topics in Silicon Valley, and its impact is already being felt in the music industry. BandLab — the music-creation app that has become popular on TikTok — relies on AI as the engine for its tool SongStarter. Users can lean on it to generate beats or melodies at random, or prompt it to spit something out based on specific lyrics and emojis; BandLab’s 60 million registered creators are churning out more than 17 million songs each month, including breakout hits for dv4d and ThxSoMch.
The tracks that emerge from BandLab depend on the interaction of human creators and AI. That holds true for some of the companies focusing on functional audio as well. LifeScore, which uses AI to “create unique, real-time soundtracks for every journey,” relies on “Lego blocks of sound all made in a studio by real musicians playing real instruments through lovely microphones,” says co-founder/CEO Philip Sheppard. Even the sound of a stream trickling through a forest comes from “someone going out with a rig and standing in that stream and recording it.”
The AI kicks in when it comes to assembling that sonic Lego. “The AI is saying, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be delightful if these could arrange themselves in this different way?’” Sheppard explains. “’How about if we could turn that into eight hours that felt like it was original every time you listened to it?’”
All results of these processes may not work. “Unsuccessful soundscapes are generated all the time,” says Oleg Stavitsky, co-founder/CEO of Endel, which offers an app that generates music designed to help users focus, relax or sleep. “Each soundscape goes through a multi-step testing process: from automated testing, detecting sound artifacts and bad sound combinations to in-house testing to our community testing.” That community includes some 4,000 people who provide feedback through Endel’s Discord channel.
“We put human eyes on everything before it goes out,” says Alex Mitchell, founder/CEO of Boomy, a company that offers aspiring musicians the chance to make songs in seconds with help from AI tools. Since 2019, Boomy users have created over 12 million songs. “We have a generic content policy that basically means if all you’re doing is pressing buttons and we detect that, then your release probably won’t be eligible for distribution,” says Mitchell. “We reject way more releases than what gets submitted. That way we’re not flooding the [digital service providers] with a bunch of nonsense.”
How will Boomy scale this approach as it attracts even more users and generates even more millions of songs? “We’re hiring,” Mitchell says.
