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Less than a week after he was indicted on sex trafficking and racketeering charges, Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing yet another civil sexual abuse case, this time claiming that he and another man “viciously raped” a woman at his New York City studio in 2001.
In a complaint filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, attorneys for Thalia Graves say that Combs and his head of security, Joseph Sherman, isolated her, drugged her and sexually assaulted her at his studio. The lawsuit says the rapper also filmed the attack and later showed it to others.
“For decades, she remained silent and did not report the crime out of fear that defendants would use their power to ruin her life, as they had repeatedly, explicitly threatened to do,” writes Graves’ lawyers, who include well-known attorney Gloria Allred. “To this day, plaintiff suffers from severe depression, anxiety, and panic attacks, and still lives in fear of defendants.”
The case is the latest of at least nine similar civil suits filed against Combs over the past year, each of which accuses him of sexual abuse and other wrongdoing. And it comes just a week after he was arrested and indicted by federal prosecutors on sweeping accusations of sex trafficking and racketeering – charges that, if proven, could see him sent to prison for life.
In the new case, Graves claims she was 25 years old at the time of the attack. She says she was dating one of Combs’ employees, and that he exploited the relationship to “lure” her into meeting him and Sherman alone at the studio.
Once alone, Graves alleges they gave her a drink that was “likely laced with a drug that eventually caused her briefly to lose consciousness.” She says she later “awoke to find herself bound and restrained,” at which time the pair “proceeded to brutally sexually abuse” her. Her attorneys say that “both men were undeterred by plaintiff’s cries for help throughout the attack.”
A representative for Combs did not immediately return a request for comment. Sherman could not immediately be located for comment.
Following the attack, Graves says she “never recovered,” suffering suicidal thoughts and other severe emotional damage. And she says any progress in healing was “dramatically reversed” when she learned last year that Combs had filmed the alleged attack and had “shown the video to multiple men.”
“Plaintiff could not believe that Defendants would record themselves committing such a gruesome crime and then proceed proudly and widely to disseminate the recording of it,” her attorneys write. “This action seeks redress for defendants’ brutalizing, misogynistic, and violent attacks.”
McHale’s Bar & Grill, a pub in midtown Manhattan, bills itself as “the best Irish bar in NYC.” It opens bright and early, at 10 a.m. on weekdays; it also happens to be right around the corner from Warner Music Group’s New York office. And on Thursday (Sept. 19), it was crammed full of Atlantic Music Group employees gathering to honor colleagues who had been laid off earlier that day. Several staffers clambered onto chairs to deliver spontaneous speeches about their time at the storied label.
McHale’s “is the only thing open during the day in that area,” says one employee who survived the cuts. At the impromptu gathering, “Lots of people who have been at Atlantic for 10- or 20-plus years said they loved being able to work with everyone. People were feeling supported since a lot of staff had been let go” — around 150 layoffs in total, according to WMG’s SEC filing.
Multiple sources stress that these departures, as well as the new regime being put in place by incoming Atlantic Music Group CEO Elliot Grainge, represent a seismic shift for Atlantic — a generational changing of the guard. A number of high-profile executives will be leaving the company, including Atlantic Music Group CEO Julie Greenwald, who co-led Atlantic for nearly 20 years; WMG’s CEO of recorded music Max Lousada, who had been at WMG for decades; 300 Elektra Entertainment chairman/CEO Kevin Liles; Atlantic general manager Paul Sinclair; and Atlantic co-president of Black music Michael Kyser, along with several department heads at both Atlantic and Elektra Records.
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In the wake of the cuts, sources say the Elektra side of 300 Elektra Entertainment is down to fewer than 20 people; Warner announced that 3EE president Gregg Nadel will move to become co-chair of Warner Music Nashville, but did not mention a replacement. (Lousada and Liles will also not be replaced.) Atlantic made further cuts to its radio team, which now has fewer than 10 employees, having already been hit in previous waves of layoffs. The label slashed the publicity department to just a handful of people.
In addition, Atlantic and Elektra eliminated their touring teams, which help artists with promotion and production on the road. The creative departments of Atlantic and 300 — the staffers who help furnish artists with the content they need in a visual, social media-driven age — suffered losses as well. And the label cut some A&R executives.
All these vanished jobs are the latest sign that the definition of a major label is transforming rapidly. “The old advantages that a big label had in the past, radio and press and TV, those just aren’t as powerful as they were,” says Jonathan Daniel, a veteran artist manager. The industry is trying to “remodel what a major label is, because the old way is unsustainable at this point.”
That retooling process has led to a number of layoffs at both WMG and Universal Music Group over the last 18 months. (Cuts at Sony Music have been more moderate, sources have said, at least so far.) Executives in traditional departments, like radio and press, have been especially vulnerable. And companies have tried to reduce overlapping roles at frontline labels in favor of a shared central system of services.
Grainge, 30, has expressed disdain for the more sprawling, old-fashioned major label model in the past. In 2016, he founded the label 10K Projects, which has billed itself almost as an anti-major: Small and fleet-footed instead of large and lumbering, with a heavy focus on modern tools (digital marketing) at the expense of more old-fashioned ones (radio). He has had success with this approach, helping boost the early careers of artists like Ice Spice, XXXTentacion and Trippie Redd.
Several Atlantic staffers started to worry about the possibility of additional staff cuts in August, as soon as WMG unexpectedly announced that Grainge would replace Greenwald starting October 1. In the past, major leadership changes at labels have often been accompanied by layoffs. Roughly 20 years ago, for example, not long after Lyor Cohen took over as chairman/CEO of WMG, the company let go of around 1,000 employees.
That said, the record business was shrinking then, rather than growing. And WMG had already made three rounds of cuts in the past 19 months before last week’s layoffs.
Some executives believe that Atlantic Music Group, which has struggled to produce new breakout artists in the last two years, was still too big and too inefficient, even after the previous reductions in staff. It’s nearly impossible to turn a massive ship quickly, and speed is crucial in what WMG CEO Robert Kyncl recently called a “fast-paced, fiercely competitive industry.”
The company’s realignment is intended to strengthen the core Atlantic Music Group structure while also making it more flexible, so it can throw its full weight behind artists at Atlantic, 300 or Elektra at any given time, sources say. “Elliot is confident in the team he’s put in place and they’re all focused on moving the needle,” a source inside WMG tells Billboard. The mission, this person continues, is focusing on “artists, artist development, great music. With all the anxiety about changes, there is excitement about the future, too.”
But others wonder if deep cuts will ultimately affect a label’s ability to deliver on behalf of its artists. “They’re smart people; obviously there’s some sort of plan” with the restructure and the layoffs, says Motti Shulman, who exited his role as senior vp of rhythm promotion at 300 Elektra Entertainment in 2023. “But if you keep cutting the fat, at some point you dig into the muscle. I think they’ve gone beyond the fat.”
Earlier this month, WMG employees say Grainge spent time in the company’s Los Angeles and New York offices along with Zach Friedman and Tony Talamo, who are set to become chief operating officer and general manager of Atlantic Music Group, respectively. Several Atlantic staffers believed that the incoming leadership was evaluating their work and weighing who might be cut.
When layoffs began in New York last Thursday, a number of employees were told they were being let go in individual meetings with Greenwald — who had, in many cases, played an instrumental role in hiring them, sometimes decades ago. Some staffers started to call the artists they had collaborated with to notify them that they had been laid off. Others updated their LinkedIn profiles: #OpenToWork.
Historically, when labels cut a lot of employees — as Universal Music group did in 1999, and WMG did in 2004 — they often trim artist rosters as well. Specific employees often champion specific artists in the building; if those cheerleaders are gone, the label may in turn sever ties with the acts they cheered for. On top of that, remaining staff might be spread too thin to aid as many acts as it did previously. Many managers are still waiting to hear if their artists will be affected in the shakeup.
Todd Rubenstein, a veteran music lawyer, has been watching the steady drumbeat of layoffs across the major labels since the start of 2023. “I find it all sad,” he says. “Not just from the human level of people losing their jobs, but everyone was already complaining before about what labels were not doing for their artists. What happens now that a hundred people got let go?”
On Monday (Sept. 23), Atlantic started trying to answer that question. The company announced a “new era” and a series of promotions. “We are committed to a single principle,” Grainge said in a statement. “Maximum impact for original artists.”
Alliance Entertainment recovered from a post-pandemic slowdown through higher demand for direct-to-consumer (D2C) fulfillment, cost savings and continued demand for vinyl LPs and CDs.
For the fiscal year ended June 30, the Plantation, Fla.-based distributor had net revenue of $1.1 billion, it announced Sept. 19, down slightly from $1.16 billion in the prior fiscal year. But by emphasizing cost efficiencies and high-margin products, Alliance increased gross profit 24% to $128.9 million and gross profit margin by 270 basis points to 11.7%. As a result, net income jumped by $40 million to $4.6 million from a net loss of $35.4 million a year earlier.
“Our strategic shift toward higher-value offerings is proving successful, and we expect to benefit from new hardware releases in the coming year,” Alliance CEO Jeff Walker said in a statement. “Similarly, in consumer products, we improved margins and pricing, demonstrating the effectiveness of our inventory rationalization efforts.”
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Music accounted for 42% of Alliance’s consolidated revenues—30% for vinyl records accounted and 12% for CDs. AMPED, Alliance’s independent music distribution business, had net sales of $78 million in fiscal 2024, up from $75 million. AMPED is the exclusive distributor for over 90 record labels and has exclusive relationships with such artists as Usher and ATEEZ.
Video games were the company’s biggest segment, accounting for 31% of consolidated revenue in the fiscal year. DVDs and Blu-Ray products were 19% of revenue. Collectibles and consumer products were 4% of consolidated revenues.
Higher-margin D2C sales accounted for 36% of fiscal year sales, up from 31% in the prior year, and helped improve profitability. “This shift highlights the effectiveness of our approach in meeting evolving consumer preferences, and it is helping to diversify and strengthen our revenue base,” Alliance chairman Bruce Ogilvie said in a statement.
A leading distributor of entertainment products with more than 325,000 SKUs in stock, Alliance counts Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, Target and Shopify as clients. The company also has a number of owned brands. The DirectToU divisions consists of ImportCDs, Deep Discount, Collectors Choice Music and Collectors Choice, among others. Mill Creek Entertainment is an independent studio for DVDs, Blu-Rays and digital distribution. NCircle is Alliance’s children’s and family entertainment brand.
The latest earnings improved on a sharp drop in sales and a net loss after sales spiked during during the previous two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From fiscal 2022 to 2023, sales fell from $1.42 billion to $1.16 billion in fiscal 2023 and adjusted EBITDA plummeted from $60 million to a loss of $17.6 million. The company’s debt ballooned to $133.3 in fiscal 2023 from $45.6 million in fiscal 2020. Inventory rose, too, to a peak of $249.4 million in fiscal 2022 from $62.8 million in fiscal 2020. Both debt and inventory came down dramatically in fiscal 2024, to $79.6 million and $97.4 million, respectively.
Shares of Alliance, which trade on the Nasdaq, closed at $2.76 on Monday, up 35.3% since earnings results were released. The company’s shares briefly traded over the counter after a merger with the NYSE-listed Adara Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, fizzled and left the company with a float too small to trade on the NYSE. The company had a small offering on the Nasdaq in June of 2023 and has a float of 3.1 million shares out of 50.9 million shares outstanding.
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Nelly faces a copyright lawsuit over his decades-old album Country Grammar; T.I. and his wife Tiny win a shocking $71 million jury verdict against a toymaker; the Michael Jackson estate takes legal action against a sexual abuse accuser; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: A Legal Blast From The Past
Nearly a quarter century after Nelly’s breakout album, he’s now getting sued over it – and by his childhood friends, no less. The case, filed by members of his early-career St. Lunatics group, claims that Nelly (Cornell Haynes) “manipulated” them into thinking they’d be paid for their work on the 2000 album Country Grammar, but that he ultimately cut them out of the credits and the royalty payments. “Every time plaintiffs confronted defendant Haynes [he] would assure them as ‘friends’ he would never prevent them from receiving the financial success they were entitled to,” the lawsuit reads. “Unfortunately, plaintiffs, reasonably believing that their friend and former band member would never steal credit for writing the original compositions, did not initially pursue any legal remedies.” Copyright lawsuits over years-old songs have become a common sight in the music industry over the past decade, thanks largely to a Supreme Court ruling that said such cases were mostly fair game. But the plaintiffs in the current case – which is styled as an infringement lawsuit but appears to really be more of a dispute over ownership – could still face hurdles over their long delay. To understand why, go read our full story on the lawsuit, with access to the actual lawsuit filed against Nelly.
Other top stories this week…
NOT A TINY VERDICT – T.I. and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris won a stunning $71 million jury verdict in their lawsuit claiming that toymaker MGA stole the design of a line of “O.M.G.” toy dolls from their real-life teen pop group OMG Girlz. Following a three-week trial, a jury found that MGA infringed both the trade dress and the likeness rights of the OMG Girlz — a defunct trio created by Tiny featuring her daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins. JACKSON ESTATE ACTION – Michael Jackson’s estate filed an arbitration case against a man who it claims has threatened to resurface ugly abuse allegations ahead of the upcoming release of Michael, a biopic about the King of Pop. According to the estate, the accuser signed a never-before-reported settlement in 2020 that saw him paid $3.3 million in return for signing a non-disclosure agreement, but now he’s threatening to breach the deal if he’s not paid another $213 million. DIDDY STAYS IN JAIL – Sean “Diddy” Combs was once again refused bail in his sex abuse case, after a federal judge ruled that the indicted rapper and music executive would pose a flight risk and might intimidate witnesses if released. His lawyers renewed their request to let him await trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges under house arrest at his Miami mansion, but Judge Andrew L. Carter ruled Diddy must instead wait for the trial in a Brooklyn federal prison. REASONABLE DOUBT? Raise your hand if you had “Jay-Z argues with New York City over arcane issues of intellectual property law” on your 2024 bingo card. With a court-ordered auction of Damon Dash’s stake in Roc-A-Fella Records looming, lawyers for the superstar and the city are somehow now wrangling over whether he can use copyright termination to retake control of his debut album Reasonable Doubt. That’s a crucial question for anyone who wants to buy Dash’s stake in Roc-A-Fella – and for a municipal government that’s trying to use the auction to recoup hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid child support. DOLAN CASE TOSSED – A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing Madison Square Garden executive James Dolan of pressuring a masseuse into unwanted sex while his band toured with the Eagles, ruling that his accuser had failed to meet the requirements of a federal sex trafficking law. But the case, which also includes simpler, state-law allegations of sexual battery and aiding and abetting of sexual assault, will likely be refiled in state court. SPICE SETTLEMENT – Ice Spice reached an agreement to end a copyright lawsuit over allegations that her recent hit “In Ha Mood” was copied from an earlier track called “In That Mood” by a Brooklyn rapper named D.Chamberz (Duval Chamberlain). Terms of the apparent settlement were not disclosed in court filings. MANILOW BATTLE – Hipgnosis Songs Fund, one of the most influential players in the catalog acquisition market run-up of recent years, is locked in litigation with Barry Manilow – a two-way, trans-Atlantic legal battle that sheds light on the company’s 2020 deal to buy the singer’s royalty income. Billboard’s Elizabeth Dilts Marshall dove deep into the court filings and breaks it all down here.
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TikTok plans to end its subscription streaming service, TikTok Music, the company announced on Tuesday (Sept. 24). TikTok Music, which is currently available in Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Singapore and Mexico, will wind down on Nov. 28.
The company will pivot to focus its efforts on the “Add to Music App,” which launched last November and allows users to save a track they discover on TikTok to their preferred streaming service with a few clicks.
“Our Add to Music App feature has already enabled hundreds of millions of track saves to playlists on partner music streaming services,” Ole Obermann, TikTok’s global head of music business development, said in a statement. “We will be closing TikTok Music at the end of November in order to focus on our goal of furthering TikTok’s role in driving even greater music listening and value on music streaming services, for the benefit of artists, songwriters and the industry.”
To the extent that the “Add to Music App” sends more TikTok users to streaming services to listen to songs they found first via short-form video, the music business views this as a win. The industry believes TikTok doesn’t pay enough when music is consumed on the platform, leading to a headline-grabbing stand-off with Universal Music Group earlier this year. Music rights holders are happier, however, with the rates at Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music.
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TikTok launched TikTok Music — Obermann described it as “a new kind of service that combines the power of music discovery on TikTok with a best-in-class streaming service” — in Indonesia and Brazil in July 2023. It expanded to Australia, Singapore, and Mexico in October of that year.
“TikTok Music will make it easy for people to save, download and share their favorite viral tracks from TikTok,” Obermann said in a statement at the time. “We are excited about the opportunities TikTok Music presents for both music fans and artists, and the great potential it has for driving significant value to the music industry.”
The company rolled out the “Add to Music App” soon after, making it available to U.S. and U.K. users in November. The language Obermann used to describe this new feature wasn’t all that different from the way he talked about TikTok Music.
The “Add to Music App” represents “a direct link between discovery on TikTok and consumption on a music streaming service,” Obermann said, “making it easier than ever for music fans to enjoy the full length song on the music streaming service of their choice, thereby generating even greater value for artists and rights holders.”
While TikTok has often seemed like a competitor to streaming services — especially when it comes to cornering the market on music discovery — the “Add to Music App” announcement stressed that they were all happy partners in a listener’s journey.
“We want to create less work to get to the audio you love,” Sten Garmark, Spotify’s global head of consumer experience, said in a statement last year. “That means being everywhere our users are and creating seamless ways to save songs to Spotify to enjoy when and how they choose to listen.”
In February, TikTok expanded access to the Add to Music app, making it available in 163 countries.
Tony Dize has inked a record deal with Rimas Music, and will make his highly-awaited comeback with new music, Billboard can exclusively announce today (Sept. 24). With a trajectory that spans over 20 years, the Puerto Rican artist born Tony Feliciano Rivera gained popularity as “La Melodía de la Calle” (the melody of the streets) thanks to his smooth vocals that backed his signature romantic reggaetón sound.
Rimas — home to Bad Bunny, Arcángel, and Eladio Carrión, to name a few — will not only “revive his classic reggaeton sound but also propel his music into the future, pushing the boundaries of Latin music,” according to a press release.
“This is a very important moment for Rimas and for Tony Dize,” said Junior Carabaño, co-founder of Rimas, in a statement. “Tony’s signing is a testament to our ongoing mission to work with artists who have not only shaped the culture but continue to drive it forward. Over the past year, we’ve been committed to making this partnership a reality, and it’s an honor that Tony has trusted us for this new chapter in his career. Together, we aim to take his timeless sound to new heights and reach even broader audiences worldwide. We can’t wait to make history together.”
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On the Billboard charts, Tony secured nine entries on the Hot Latin Songs chart including “El Doctorado” at No. 8 in 2010. The song also reached No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Airplay for two weeks that same year. In 2014, he peaked at No. 2 on the latter chart with “Prometo Olvidarte.”
He additionally secured his first and only entry on the Billboard 200 chart with his debut album, La Melodía de la Calle, in 2008. He reached No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Albums in 2009 with La Melodía de La Calle (Updated); and in 2015, his set La Melodía de La Calle, 3rd Season, debuted at No. 1 on both Top Latin Albums and Latin Rhythm Albums charts.
Most recently, he was a featured artist on Bad Bunny’s “La Corriente,” part of his Una Verano Sin Ti album. The infectious collab earned Dize his only entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2022, and on both Global charts: No. 17 on the Billboard Global 200 and No. 20 on the Global Excl. U.S.
On the heels of the signing, the “Permitame” singer will release his new single “Quisiera,” accompanied by a conceptual video directed by Nuno Gomes.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund, one of the most influential players in the catalog acquisition market run-up of recent years, and Barry Manilow are embroiled in a pair of lawsuits over $1.5 million in unpaid bonuses Manilow’s team claims Hipgnosis agreed to when it acquired his catalog.
Hipgnosis Songs Fund sued first in the High Court in London on August 12, saying they do not owe Manilow these bonuses, and that Manilow, Manilow Productions and Stiletto Entertainment are in breach of contract for not turning over certain payments they received from Sony Music. The “Mandy” singer and his management company sued back in United States federal court in California on Aug. 28, claiming that Hipgnosis does owe Manilow $1.5 million in bonuses, and that the fund did not actively promote his work, thereby avoiding these performance-linked bonuses — logic Hipgnosis calls flawed.
In other circumstances, this may have been treated like a mundane contract dispute. But Manilow’s legal team allege in the suit that Hipgnosis, through its founder Merck Mercuriadis — the man behind the formerly London-listed fund’s famous appetite for acquisitions — falsely represented that it had the people and know-how to increase the money generated by Manilow’s master recordings. Mercuriadis is not party to either lawsuit, and through a spokesperson he declined to comment for this article.
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According to a copy of the contract included in Hipgnosis’ lawsuit, the company acquired 100% of Manilow’s worldwide income (excluding SoundExchange royalties) from his master recordings for $7.5 million. Two bonus payments were to be paid out if, for the first payment, the income Hipgnosis received from its share of the assets increased by at least 10% year-on-year compounding for each of the first three years; and if, for the second payment, the income Hipgnosis received increased by at least 10% year-on-year compounding for years one through four.
Manilow’s legal team says in its suit that Hipgnosis described promotional strategies that included album reissues, special compilations and synch deals, as well as less traditional strategies like a YouTube Karaoke channel, Instagram giphy packs and Copacabana-themed dance trends.
“Hipgnosis did not carry out a single one of its touted promotional strategies; upon information and belief, it did nothing at all in order to keep the cash income below the levels required to meet the condition precedent for the additional purchase price payments,” Manilow and Stiletto Entertainment’s legal team alleges in the complaint. Manilow also missed out on expected complementary increases in the value of his publishing royalties and his Las Vegas residency, they claim in the suit.
In its suit, Hipgnosis alleges that Manilow, Manilow Productions and Stiletto Entertainment breached their contract that laid out when bonuses would be paid because Manilow & co. received two royalty payments from Sony — for the period from July 1 to December 31, 2022, and January 1 to June 30, 2023 — that they ought to have turned over to Hipgnosis but didn’t. In addition, Hipgnosis says in the lawsuit that Sony Music suspended payment of royalties for the period from July 1 to December 31, 2023. Sony Music through a spokesperson declined to comment.
Regardless, Hipgnosis says in the suit it does not owe the bonuses because the income received never met the performance targets, and it is seeking to recover 100,000 pounds from Manilow and his production and management teams.
“The matter of the bonus payment is a routine contractual matter regarding interpretation of certain contract clauses,” a Hipgnosis spokesman said in an emailed statement. “While we regret that this couldn’t be resolved directly between the parties, the court is now best placed to offer a final and definitive opinion on this matter. We have full confidence in our position and the legal process.”
Representatives for Hipgnosis also dispute Manilow’s team’s logic that Hipgnosis did not promote his works so as to keep the income levels below the thresholds that would trigger the bonus payouts, saying that logic is false because acquisition deals are structured to incentivize Hipgnosis to optimize the asset. Performance bonuses by definition are paid out when the asset does well, which benefits the artist and Hipgnosis, they say.
“Hipgnosis’ model is based on a strong alignment of interest between songwriters and artists and our business,” Hipgnosis’ spokesperson said in the emailed statement. “We continue to hold Barry and his music in the highest possible regard. To suggest that Hipgnosis would deliberately withhold promotional efforts for these recordings would not make commercial sense. These claims are baseless, and we will defend them vigorously should that be necessary.”
Manilow’s case is currently a one-off. However, the board of Hipgnosis Songs Fund said that, as of Sept. 30, 2023, it was liable to pay out as much as $68.1 million in catalog bonus provisions across 10 catalogs, of which the disputed Manilow bonuses are just one. Hipgnosis Songs Fund has since been taken private by Blackstone and no longer discloses this level of financial data.
Warner Music Group mainstay Gregg Nadel has been appointed co-chair and co-president of Warner Music Nashville and will work alongside Cris Lacy, who’s been co-head of WMN for the past two years. Nadel succeeds Ben Kline, who is stepping down following a decade with the company.
The changes follow the recent move to bring Warner Music Nashville under the Warner Records umbrella.
Based in Nashville, Nadel and Lacy will report to Warner Records CEO & co-chairman Aaron Bay-Schuck and COO & co-chairman Tom Corson, who report direct to WMG CEO Robert Kyncl, effective Oct. 1. Lacy, Nadel, and their team will continue to work with Nashville artists co-signed with Atlantic Music Group.
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Over the course of nearly three decades, Nadel, who most recently served as president of Elektra Entertainment, has signed and/or championed artists including Zac Brown Band, Brandi Carlile, The Highwomen, Sturgill Simpson, Bailey Zimmerman and Brittney Spencer, as well as many other artists across multiple genres.
Prior to being named president of Elektra Entertainment in 2017, Nadel served as general manager of Elektra Records and before that was senior vp of A&R and marketing for Atlantic Records. A 27-year veteran of WMG, Nadel joined Atlantic directly out of college in 1997. He has led campaigns for global artists such as Ed Sheeran, who he’s worked with since the early days of Sheeran’s career. Nadel has been named to Billboard’s Power 100 list multiple times, and, this year, was honored as a Country Power Player.
Bay-Schuck and Corson said in a statement, “Gregg grew up at WMG, and over the past three decades, he’s brought his impeccable taste, wisdom, and guidance to an exceptional array of original, powerful voices. He’s an ambidextrous A&R and marketing expert with a global perspective, which will be a tremendous asset at a time when Nashville artists are crossing boundaries and reaching the world stage like never before. Like Gregg, Cris has expanded from her roots as an A&R force into a true multi-dimensional leader, and together, they’ll be a phenomenal team to take Warner Music Nashville into a dynamic future.”
Bay-Schuck and Corson added, “We’d also like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Ben Kline. Over his past decade with WMN, his tireless passion for the label’s artists and team has set the company up for continued, expanding success. He leaves with our deepest admiration and best wishes for his next chapter.”
Nadel said, “I’ve had the honor of working with incredibly talented artists across many sounds and styles, and through it all, I’ve always felt a deep connection to the heartfelt music that comes from Nashville’s rich creative culture. I’m excited to be diving deeper into this brilliant community of musicians and storytellers, and I’m especially excited about working alongside Cris Lacy and the entire team. Thank you to Tom and Aaron for this incredible opportunity.”
Lacy noted, “Thanks to WMG’s cross-label and cross-genre philosophy, Gregg and I have been collaborating within the company for over a decade. We’re both rooted in a deep love of the music that comes into and out of Nashville. Gregg brings a unique, wide-ranging perspective to what will be a fantastic partnership. He has long invested in the culture and the community of this town, and together, we are fiercely committed to amplifying what makes its music so special. My heartfelt thanks and admiration go out to Ben. It’s been a great ride, and his expertise, leadership, and friendship have made it all the more gratifying. I wish him the very best in all things to come.”
Kline said, “Together, we’ve grown Warner Music Nashville to new heights and played vital roles in the development of so many artists. Thanks to WMG leadership for all of the opportunities, faith, and guidance along the way. And thank you to Cris Lacy for her never-wavering support for the artists and their musical visions. I’m excited for the next adventure.”
Universal Music Group Nashville has appointed Robert Kilduff as chief financial officer. Kilduff brings to the role more than three decades of experience in financial leadership, strategic financial planning, operations, and corporate development.
Kilduff previously served as CFO for non-profit organization, the Gary Sinise Foundation. He has also served as CFO of New Form Entertainment, vice president of financial planning & analysis for WME, and vice president of financial planning & analysis for Universal Music Group North America. Kilduff has also helmed financial strategy for Broadramp, Inc. as an early tech start up, spearheaded the launch of an international software division for special effects company Digital Domain, and directed international financial teams and operations integration for the Viacom subsidiary Neopets.com/ Kilduff’s other finance roles have included PricewaterhouseCoopers Strategy Consulting, Warner Bros. Studios, and former Big Six accounting firm, Coopers & Lybrand. Kilduff holds degrees from UCLA and Columbia Business School.
“Having helped lead the financial growth strategy of businesses in music, film/television, and technology sectors, Bob has a wealth of knowledge that will be instrumental in the growth strategy of Universal Music Group Nashville,” said Universal Music Group Nashville Chair/CEO, Cindy Mabe in a statement. “He is the unicorn we were looking for to help grow the next era of UMGN. I am so excited for him to join our team.”
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Kilduff added, “I am thrilled to rejoin UMG, a company with such a rich history of creative excellence, and eager to contribute to its ongoing success and future growth.”
The addition of Kilduff is the latest shift for UMG Nashville, following the appointment of Derek Anderson as senior vp of commerce last month. The label group also recently teamed up with Timbaland’s Mosley Music.
The label group Universal Music Group Nashville consists of imprints Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Records Nashville, MCA Nashville, and Mercury Nashville, as well as comedy label Capitol Comedy Nashville, which launched last year. In February, UMG Nashville revealed the launch of its distribution arm Silver Wings Records, as well as the launch of its film/tv production unit Sing Me Back Home Productions.
UMG Nashville’s artist roster includes Alan Jackson, Anne Wilson, Billy Currington, Brad Paisley, Brothers Osborne, Bryce Leatherwood, Carrie Underwood, Carter Faith, Catie Offerman, Caylee Hammack, Chris Stapleton, Dalton Dover, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Dillon James, Eric Church, George Strait, Hootie & The Blowfish, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Josh Ross, Josh Turner, Kacey Musgraves, Kassi Ashton, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Louie TheSinger, Luke Bryan, Luke Grimes, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Reba McEntire, Sam Hunt, Sam Williams, The War And Treaty, Timothy Wayne, Tucker Wetmore, Tyler Hubbard, Vince Gill, Vincent Mason, and more, as well as comedian Nate Bargatze.
T.I. and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris won a stunning $71 million jury verdict Monday in their lawsuit claiming that toymaker MGA stole the design of a line of “O.M.G.” toy dolls from their real-life teen pop group OMG Girlz.
As first reported by Law360, jurors awarded the couple and their companies the huge award after finding that MGA’s dolls infringed both the trade dress and the likeness rights of the OMG Girlz — a defunct musical trio created by Tiny and featuring her daughter Zonnique “Star” Pullins.
Following a three-week trial and a day of deliberations, the jurors awarded the rapper and his wife $17.9 million in actual damages and another $53.6 million in punitive damages. Neither side immediately returned requests for comment.
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The legal battle began in 2021, with T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) and Tiny claiming that MGA had committed both “cultural appropriation and outright theft of the intellectual property” by stealing the look of a group of “young multicultural women.”
Their complaint against MGA included side-by-side images, aiming to show how each OMG doll was directly based on a particular member of the OMG Girlz – Pullins, Bahja “Beauty” Rodriguez, and Breaunna “Babydoll” Womack.
MGA maintained that it had done nothing wrong — that the dolls were more often branded as L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G., and that consumers would not confuse the toys for the “short-lived” band.
Over three years of litigation, the case already went to trial twice. The first trial, in January 2023, ended in a mistrial after jurors heard inadmissible testimony featuring accusations of racism against MGA. The second trial then ended in a verdict for MGA, with jurors clearing the company of wrongdoing. But that verdict was later overturned on appeal, setting the stage for yet another trial.
On the third try, the outcome swung in favor of T.I. and Tiny. In a livestream on Instagram following the verdict, she said it had been “a hell of a fight” but that “we couldn’t be more happy.”
“We wanted to thank the jurors for just seeing us through this, and just believing in what we said,” she said in the video. “They heard our story and they knew we wasn’t lying. It’s amazing.”
MGA can still appeal the verdict and the damages award, first by asking the judge to set them aside and then by taking the case to a federal appeals court.