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The Artist Rights Symposium returns for a fourth year on Wednesday (Nov. 20) at a new location — American University’s Kogood School of Business. This year the day-long event will feature panels like “The Trouble with Tickets,” “Overview of Current Issues in Artificial Intelligence Litigation,” and “Name, Image and Likeness Rights in the Age of AI.” Plus, the symposium will feature a keynote with Digital Media Association (DiMA) president and CEO Graham Davies.
Founded by University of Georgia professor, musician and activist Dr. David C. Lowery, the event has been held at the university in Athens, Georgia for the last three years. Now that the event has moved to Washington, D.C., the Artist Rights Symposium can take advantage of the wealth of music professionals in the city. This includes D.C.-based panelists like Davies, Stephen Parker (executive director, National Independent Venue Association), Ken Doroshow (Chief Legal Officer, Recording Industry Association of America), Jalyce E. Mangum (attorney-advisor, U.S. Copyright Office), Jen Jacobsen (executive director, Artist Rights Alliance), Jeffrey Bennett (general counsel, SAG-AFTRA) and more.
The Artist Rights Symposium is supported by the Artist Rights Institute.
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See the schedule of events below:
9:15-10:15 – THE TROUBLE WITH TICKETS: The Challenges of Ticket Resellers and Legislative SolutionsKevin Erickson, Director, Future of Music Coalition, Washington DCDr. David C. Lowery, Co-founder of Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven, University of Georgia Terry College of Business, Athens, GeorgiaStephen Parker, Executive Director, National Independent Venue Association, Washington DCMala Sharma, President, Georgia Music Partners, Atlanta, GeorgiaModerator: Christian L. Castle, Esq., Director, Artist Rights Institute, Austin, Texas
10:15-10:30: NIVA Speculative Ticketing Project Presentation by Kogod students
10:45-11:00: OVERVIEW OF CURRENT ISSUES IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LITIGATIONKevin Madigan, Vice President, Legal Policy and Copyright Counsel, Copyright Alliance
11:00-12 pm: SHOW ME THE CREATOR – Transparency Requirements for AI TechnologyDanielle Coffey, President & CEO, News Media Alliance, Arlington, VirginiaDahvi Cohen, Legislative Assistant, U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff, Washington DCKen Doroshow, Chief Legal Officer, Recording Industry Association of America, Washington DCModerator: Linda Bloss-Baum, Director of the Kogod School of Business’s Business & Entertainment Program
12:30-1:30: KEYNOTEGraham Davies, President and CEO of the Digital Media Association, Washington DC.
1:45-2:45: CHICKEN AND EGG SANDWICH: Bad Song Metadata, Unmatched Funds, KYC and What You Can Do About ItRichard James Burgess, MBE, President & CEO, American Association of Independent Music, New YorkHelienne Lindvall, President, European Composer & Songwriter Alliance, London, EnglandAbby North, President, North Music Group, Los AngelesAnjula Singh, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, SoundExchange, Washington DCModerator: Christian L. Castle, Esq, Director, Artist Rights Institute, Austin, Texas
3:15-3:30: OVERVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LEGISLATIONGeorge York, Senior Vice President International Policy from RIAA.
3:30-4:30: NAME, IMAGE AND LIKENESS RIGHTS IN THE AGE OF AI: Current initiatives to protect creator rights and attributionJeffrey Bennett, General Counsel, SAG-AFTRA, Washington, DCJen Jacobsen, Executive Director, Artist Rights Alliance, Washington DCJalyce E. Mangum, Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Copyright Office, Washington DCModerator: John Simson, Program Director Emeritus, Business & Entertainment, Kogod School of Business, American University
Universal Music Group made a pair of announcements on Wednesday that signal the global leader in music is getting more and more serious about China.
Universal Music Greater China and Modern Sky, a leading independent music label in the country, pressed send on a strategic distribution agreement giving the domestic label’s catalog and artists access to UMG’s global distribution network, fostering collaboration and promoting Chinese music and youth culture internationally.
Additionally, UMGC announced a pact with iQIYI, China’s leading online entertainment platform, to distribute new releases from contestants of reality show The Rap of China 2024 worldwide. This agreement includes support for the rap artists and opportunities for the top three finalists of the iQIYI-produced show to visit UMG’s global music labels and studios, with a goal to foster international collaborations with other artists and producers.
Modern Sky, founded in 1997 by Shen Lihui, has been a key player in China’s indie music scene, producing over 500 albums and working with influential bands and artists. The label’s roster includes over 150 acts, featuring Matt Lv, Aflou, DOUDOU and other established and emerging talents across diverse genres. Modern Sky is also known for organizing the Strawberry Music Festival, China’s first large-scale outdoor music festival, and hosting over 30 festivals and 1,000 performances annually. The label has expanded internationally with divisions in New York, Liverpool and Tokyo, with plans to debut the Strawberry Music Festival in Tokyo in 2025.
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As for The Rap of China, a hit since its debut in 2018, UMGC will dedicate a team to support the narrative-driven show’s artists in A&R, management, marketing and merchandise development.
Timothy Xu, chairman and CEO of UMGC, expressed excitement about both collaborations, highlighting their potential to amplify Chinese music on the global stage. He said the Modern Sky agreement “not only broadens the global reach of Chinese music but also highlights the distinct energy and creativity that define China’s young generation today,” and noted the alliance with iQIYI’s The Rap of China 2024 “reaffirms our commitment to nurturing Chinese rap talent but also extends their global reach, bridging cultural gaps and enriching the international music landscape with the dynamic culture of Chinese rap.”
Modern Sky founder Shen Lihui said his label has “always embraced an independent spirit and a forward-looking vision,” adding they hope to “bring a fresh side of Chinese originality to the world, inviting audiences everywhere to experience the unique energy and cultural depth of China’s youth.”
Earlier this year, UMG expanded its partnership with China-based Tencent Music Entertainment, parent of streaming platforms QQ Music, KuGou, Kuwo and WeSing. In 2021, UMGC became the first major music company to establish multiple frontline label operations across China with the launch of Republic Records China, and the re-launch of historical labels Polygram Records China and EMI China alongside Universal Music China.
Deadmau5 has signed with CAA for representation in all areas.
The Canadian electronic music producer will work closely with CAA on his future endeavors, including global touring, gaming and tech-focused efforts, among other opportunities.
“Deadmau5 has redefined the intersection of music, art, and technology, and we’re thrilled to be a part of his next chapter,” Deadmau5’s agent at CAA, Ferry Rais-Shaghagh, tells Billboard.
Given Deadmau5’s many projects across music, tech, art and beyond, his move to CAA was a function of the agency’s ability to offer opportunities with its other divisions in addition to live touring. The artist was previously represented by UTA, who he signed with in 2020.
Deadmau5 has a long list of accomplishments going back two decades. His debut album was released in 2005, and in 2011, he became the first electronic artist to play the mainstage at Lollapalooza. He’s since played major festivals including Coachella, Tomorrowland, Electric Daisy Carnival, Ultra Music Festival, Outside Lands, Creamfields UK, and Bonnaroo. In 2022, his set as Kx5 with Kaskade set a record for the biggest ticketed global headliner dance event of 2022, according to Billboard Boxscore.
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His catalog has 1.7 billion on-demand official U.S. streams where Deadmau5 billed as the primary artist, according to Luminate. Hits including “Ghosts ‘n’ Stuff,” “Strobe” and the Kaskade collaboration “I Remember” helped introduce electronic music to mainstream audiences, with his music and live performances also infusing boundary pushing technology. His 2019/20 U.S. cubev3 tour, featuring production of his own design and implementation, ranked in the Top 10 of Pollstar’s top tours globally.
Meanwhile, his label, Mau5trap, has released music since 2007.
The artist, whose real name is Joel Zimmerman, is managed by Dean Wilson at Circuit Group/Seven20. His team also includes attorney is Dina LaPolt from LaPolt Law, P.C. and publicist Alexandra Greenberg at Falcon Publicity PR.
Young Thug might be home from jail, but he’s still facing a multi-million dollar legal battle with concert giant AEG over a touring partnership gone sour.
In new legal filings, attorneys for AEG say they’re pushing ahead with a civil lawsuit, first filed way back in 2020, accusing the rapper of violating a touring agreement. AEG says Thug owes more than $5 million under the deal — and that he’s now obligated to hand over some of his music to pay down the debt.
The lawsuit has been delayed by Thug’s years-long criminal drama, in which Atlanta prosecutors accused him of running a violent gang. But after the superstar pleaded guilty and was released from jail last month, AEG now says it wants its money.
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“Proceedings in this action have been hampered for more than two years by reason of Mr. Williams’ incarceration,” the company’s lawyers wrote in a Friday’s court filing. “So long as Mr. Williams does not violate the terms of his probation, his criminal proceedings should no longer affect the parties’ ability to complete discovery and motion practice, or to bring the case to trial.”
AEG sued Thug in December 2020, claiming he had breached a 2017 touring agreement that gave the company the exclusive right to promote his concerts. AEG alleged that Thug had “immediately failed and refused to honor” the deal after it had been signed, including by performing shows without the promoter’s involvement and pocketing the proceeds.
Under the terms of the deal, AEG claims Thug was paid a $5.3 million advance – a sum the company says was never paid back after he breached his deal. More significantly, AEG says that debt was secured with Thug’s copyrights to his songs as collateral – and that AEG can now claim an interest in the revenue generated by such intellectual property.
“Such copyrights constituted collateral that was subject to the security agreement,” the company wrote in its 2020 complaint. “AEG has the right, pursuant to [agreement], to require that [Thug’s publishing company] and Mr. Williams assemble such [copyrights] and turn them over to AEG.”
After nearly four years, such a case would typically have resulted in a trial or a settlement by now. But the lawsuit against Thug was put on indefinite hold in May 2022, when the rapper was arrested and charged in a sweeping racketeering indictment that claimed his YSL group was a violent gang that had wrought “havoc” on the Atlanta area for nearly a decade.
After sitting in jail for more than two years during the longest-running trial in Georgia history, Thug pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced to serve only probation — a stunning end to a legal saga that could have seen him face a lifetime prison sentence.
For AEG’s attorneys, however, the end of Thug’s criminal case is just the start of the re-booted civil lawsuit – and also a chance to proceed on new accusations that the rapper has attempted to hide his copyrights.
In a court filing this summer, AEG’s lawyers said they had recently learned that Thug had sold more than 400 copyrighted songs for more than $16 million to an unknown third-party in 2021 – meaning after AEG had already filed its lawsuit seeking access to some of those songs. As a result of the sale, AEG said it might file an updated version of the case claiming the sale was fraudulent.
Now, in Friday’s new court filings, AEG says that even after “extensive research,” it remains “unclear which specific entities now own interests in such copyrights.” The company says it has filed issued subpoenas to 15 different entities seeking more information, and is still waiting to hear back.
“Based on the documents to be produced by those entities, AEG will determine whether to proceed against some or all of the collateral in this action as against defendants, to seek leave of court to
include claims against new parties with regard to such collateral, or to take steps outside this lawsuit with regard to such collateral,” the company wrote.
In technical terms, Friday’s filing was an agreement between the two opposing sides to push back all deadlines in the case by six months. That will give Thug a necessary three months to “become reacclimated to life outside of prison” and connect with his lawyers so he can “participate meaningfully in the action.” It will also give AEG the necessary time to “determine whether and how to proceed with regard to the copyrights.”
Neither side immediately returned requests for comment on Wednesday.
Haliey Welch, better known as the “Hawk Tuah Girl,” announced the launch of her own vocal sample pack on Wednesday (Nov. 20). Producers looking to sample Welch will be able to do so via BeatStars, the popular online beat marketplace. It’s a shrewd move by Welch: Her voice has already been sampled willy-nilly since she […]

The Seoul Regional Office of Employment and Labor announced on Wednesday (Nov. 20) that it has closed its investigation into a case alleging harassment against NewJeans member HANNI after determining that the singer cannot be considered an employee under the law.
According to a statement from the Labor office, “It is difficult to consider HANNI a worker under the Labor Standards Act, so the case was administratively closed.” HANNI, 20, (born Phạm Ngọc Hân), made her debut as a member of the first girl group signed to the HYBE label ADOR in 2022; ADOR is a sub-label of HYBE, whose other labels support such acts as BTS, SEVENTEEN and Le SSERAFIM, among others.
After the Vietnamese-Australian singer claimed during a YouTube livestream in September that a manager of another K-pop group under the HYBE umbrella (ILLIT) instructed their artists to “ignore” her inside the HYBE HQ in Seoul, HANNI’s fans filed a complaint with the Ministry of Employment and Labor as well as one with a civil rights organization.
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HANNI gave tearful testimony about the alleged incident last month, telling the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee, “We have a floor in our building where we do hair and makeup and, at that time, I was waiting in the hallway because my hair and makeup was done first… I said hello to all of them, and then they came back about five or 10 minutes later. On her way out, [the manager] made eye contact with me, turned to the rest of the group, and said, ‘Ignore her like you didn’t see her.’ I don’t understand why she would say something like that in the work environment.”
In a stunning moment during that testimony, HANNI said the various alleged incidents of disrespect made her realize that, “this wasn’t just a feeling. I was honestly convinced that the company hated us.”
She added that these were not isolated incidents and that she often felt undermined and ignored by her company’s management team, which left her and her bandmates feeling disrespected. “We are all human. I think a lot of people are forgetting that,” she said during her testimony. “I understand that the contracts for artists and trainees may be different [from that of regular workers], but we are all human.”
The statement from the Labor office dismissing the investigation continued, “Given the content and nature of the management contract HANNI signed, it is difficult to regard her as a worker under the Labor Standards Act, which involves working in a subordinate relationship for wages.” The reasoning for the ruling noted that the relationship between HANNI and ADOR was one in which, “each party fulfills their contractual obligations as equal contracting parties, making it difficult to consider there was supervision or direction from the company.”
In addition, the ruling noted that, “Company rules, regulations, and systems that apply to regular employees were not applied to her (as an artist)… both the company and HANNI shared the costs necessary for entertainment activities. Both parties bear their own taxes, and she pays business income tax, not employment income tax,” and “HANNI bears the risks associated with generating profits and potential losses from entertainment activities.”

LONDON — The United Kingdom’s music industry is at a “tipping point” due to increasing competition from other international markets and the threat posed by unregulated generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), the head of umbrella organization UK Music has warned.
In 2023, the music industry contributed £7.6 billion ($9.6 billion) to the country’s economy, up 13% from the previous year, according to the organization’s annual This Is Music study, which measures the economic impact of the U.K. music industry across all income streams including live, record sales, publishing, merch, brand endorsements and public performance revenue for UK based music creators and rights holders.
Huge grossing U.K. tours by Beyonce, Burna Boy and Harry Styles helped drive the record economic contribution, said UK Music, which bases its calculations upon the gross value estimates of money generated through music sales, concerts, recording studios, touring and music tourism — roughly equivalent to pre-tax profits and salaries.
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However, despite strong appetite for British artists and songs, the country’s music market is facing several significant challenges that threaten its continued prosperity, says UK Music. It identifies increasing competition from other international markets, tough financial conditions for grassroots artists and music venues, as well as the potential risks posed by generative AI on music creation as the biggest dangers to the sector.
According to export figures released earlier this year by U.K. labels trade body BPI, artists from the United Kingdom now cumulatively account for less than 10% of global music streams, compared to 17% in 2015. BPI says the U.K.’s declining share of the global music market is partially down to it facing tougher competition from fast-growing international markets such as Latin America and countries like South Korea.
The U.K.’s grassroots live sector is also battling a number of well-documented financial hardships with around 125 small capacity music venues closing in 2023 and more 350 currently at risk of closure, according to the Music Venue Trust (MVT) charity. Additionally, this year has seen 60 U.K. music festivals either postpone, cancel or close due to rising costs, slow ticket sales and poor weather, says the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF).
“We are now at a tipping point, and if the problems we face are not addressed then future growth cannot be guaranteed,” said UK Music chief executive Tom Kiehl in a statement on Wednesday (Nov. 20).
Kiehl said that without tougher regulation “the wild west” of generative AI could further undermine the U.K.’s long-held status as the world’s second biggest exporter of music behind the United States. Kiehl is calling for the British government to press ahead with implementing laws that protect artists and rights holders from AI developers using copyright protected works to train their systems without permission.
UK Music also wants to see ministers establish a legislative framework that will require tech companies to clearly identify AI created music and keep records of works that have they have ingested, akin to what the European Union introduce earlier this year in its AI Act.
Other areas where UK Music said urgent action was needed to maintain the market’s growth in the face of heightened international competition was in music education and the live industry. The organization is urging the Labour government to press ahead with its previously proposed cap on secondary ticket resale prices, as well as secure a cultural touring agreement with the EU that will allow visa-free touring for musicians and crew.
In a statement, U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called the country’s music industry “a real British success story” that is “vitally important” to driving overall economic growth. Nandy said she was committed to ensuring that the government works with the music industry to build upon its current success for years to come.
“By supporting vital grassroots venues, introducing new secondary ticketing protections for fans and ensuring all children can access high quality music education in schools, we can help the sector go from strength to strength in the future,” said Nandy.
According to figures released earlier this year by U.K. labels trade body BPI, global superstars like Styles, Adele and Ed Sheeran helped British music exports climb to a record high of £775 million ($974 million) in 2023 based upon estimated label trade revenue — the highest annual total since BPI began analyzing labels’ overseas income in 2000.
UK’s Music’s This Is Music study uses a different methodology to report on export revenues, which it says climbed to a record high of £4.6 billion ($5.8 billion) in 2023, up 15% year-on-year. That export figure is based upon gross income generated overseas by British music companies and creators, including recorded music, publishing, brand endorsements, merchandise sales, international touring by homegrown artists and foreign visitors attending U.K. gigs and festivals (so-called music tourism).
The total number of people employed in the U.K. music industry grew 3% year-on-year to a record 216,000 full-time equivalent posts, reports UK Music.
Mexican music star Ana Bárbara has signed a global publishing deal with Kobalt, the company tells Billboard. The indie publisher will administer all of the Mexican music star’s catalog and future recordings. Bárbara’s previous publisher was Ingrooves Music Publishing. The deal comes on the heels of Bárbara’s Reina Grupera U.S. Tour, which celebrated her 30th […]

Veteran artist manager Peter Rudge started his music career in 1968 when he took up a temporary £20.00 per week ($25.00) post at Track Records, the London-based independent label formed by The Who managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp that was also home to The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Marc Bolan. His original plan was to work at Track for three months while he waited to take the Civil Service entrance exam.
Instead, Rudge soon found himself traveling the world with The Who as their tour manager before going on to manage the group outright alongside Bill Curbishley, launching what would become a 55-year career in the business.
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In the 1970s, Rudge also worked closely with The Rolling Stones, overseeing the band’s huge global tours throughout the decade, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, which he managed from 1973 until the 1977 plane crash that killed several members of the group, including singer Ronnie Van Zant. Other artists he’s represented over the past five decades include Roger Waters, Madness, Duran Duran, Il Divo, Ball & Boe and English rock band James, his longest and closest client which he has managed since 1989.
Last month, Rudge announced he was retiring from artist management to work on other music projects, including co-producing a film documentary about pioneering music agent Frank Barsalona, who is widely credited with revolutionizing the rock concert business.
“I got into business labeled the youngest guy in business and now I’m labeled the oldest guy in the business,” says Rudge, speaking exclusively to Billboard. “I don’t really want to be that. I’ve got nothing left to prove.”
Here, Rudge shares some of the biggest lessons he’s learned from 55 years in “the artist management trenches,” along with some of his favorite stories about life on the road with the Stones, The Who and countless others — from dealing with the deaths of several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd in a 1977 plane crash to becoming a target of the Hells Angels. “I tend to talk a lot,” he says laughing. “My mouth is my instrument.”
“You’ve got to front up to so many egos.”
“Artists are an acquired taste. I love them. I’ve worked with them, but I have to be [like] Henry Kissinger because I’ve spent my entire life translating the artist vision, their wishes to the label, to the publisher, to the agent in two different languages. You could call it an art form but it’s what I was good at. I originally wanted to be a diplomat. But I always wanted to travel, and I loved music. It was the other passion I had besides football, and I saw the opportunity very early [to enter the music business] and I got sucked into it.”
Stand up for yourself and don’t be a pushover.
“The first time I met The Who face to face I was sitting in the Track [Records] office. I had a little desk in an anteroom outside Kit and Chris’ office. Pete Townshend draped his coat over me as if I was a coat stand and walked into the office without looking at me. I thought, ‘How do I deal with this?’ So, I threw it at him and said, ‘You’ve left something behind.’ And he just broke into a smile. You’re constantly tested in life, and I was never intimidated in that way. [James’ singer] Tim Booth says I’m always the loudest guy in the room, but you’ve got to take control. When an artist asks a question, they don’t want you to say, ‘I don’t have the answer.’ You’re there for a purpose and you can’t show a lot of weakness or vulnerability because that will get exploited and taken advantage of.
“We all know the manager is on the thin end of the legal contractual chain in this business. The manager is always the buffer [between the artist and record company, agent and promoter]. But if the record goes wrong or the tour loses a lot of money, it’s the manager who usually takes the bullet in the head. Most of my bands have fired me at one point or another. You’re not 55 years in the business and don’t get fired.”
Nothing compares to touring with The Rolling Stones in the 1970s.
“They got me in for the ‘72 tour. They never had a manager. Mick’s been the only manager of the Stones, to be honest. My brief was the ’72 tour but also you went across everything with Mick [Jagger]. He would come to you and say, ‘Pete, what do you think about this or that?’ He’d play everybody off against everybody — in a lovely way. I’ve got a massive amount of respect for Mick Jagger. We did the Exile on Main St. tour and that was successful, and I toured with them all through the Seventies. Marshall Chess was running the record company [Rolling Stones Records] and Mick would always use me to come in and I’d work with Atlantic Records. I did a little bit of everything, but my main thing was the tours, and we did some big shows.”
Always plan ahead.
“I used to have to get off the plane first, when it was on the runway, because we were always worried about getting busted [for drugs] and Keith [Richards] getting done in particular. I’d go to a pay phone and call the number of another pay phone in the city somewhere where the advance man was. I’d say, ‘Are we clear? Do you think the police are there? Is anyone in the hotel?’ And that was it — get off the plane, let’s go. It was like [British sitcom] Dad’s Army when you look back at it now. It was incredible but we were playing to 70,000 people every night.”
“The Stones are the exception to most of the rules.”
“1978 was my last [Stones] tour. I’d run my course with them, to be honest. Bill Graham took over. Then Michael Cohl. I was young and I probably screwed up. I should have been more responsible in terms of drink and things of that nature. You get caught up in that world. It’s a very intoxicating world. But they were phenomenal years… The Stones are the exception to most of the rules. They’ve got the best frontman who ever existed. And a guitarist who’s led every indulgent rock and roll fantasy life and who is going to outlive us all. For me, that’s the great rock and roll story — that Keith Richards is going to be the last man standing.”
“Live is the one authentic thing in the music business”
“You can basically manipulate everything else. I’d forgive a band a bad record. But when I saw them live, if I got them, I was with them forever. And I thought that about The Who. If The Who came along now, they’d probably be dropped after their second album. They were too inconsistent. They were too stubborn. They didn’t sell a lot of records. It was a very transitional stage and the thing that kept it all together was live. That connects the dots. So, I took that mantra into all the artists I’ve worked with… Lynyrd Skynyrd were a bar band. A bunch of scruffy kids from Jacksonville. No style. No image. But God could they play. And God was Ronnie Van Zant good live. And God did he connect with his audience. It was amazing. So that’s always fueled me. That’s always been where my passion lies and that’s what I took into [managing] the James guys. If a band is good live you’ve got some collateral to fall back on.”
Find a supportive financier to write the checks.
“I look back at [managing] The Who and we never cared about [promoting] the record. They just went and toured. And they were running at a huge loss, in some respects because [Pete] Townshend smashed up his guitars all the time. They beat up the equipment. They had no consideration for money and the reason that we were able to tour the U.S. and Europe out of cycle was because they found a bank manager in Ealing [London] who kept giving them overdrafts. He did it because he was a huge Who fan. Back in the day, we wouldn’t let the labels backstage. Jesus, they were a pain in the neck. I remember with the Stones there was a time when Ahmet [Ertegun, co-founder and legendary former president of Atlantic Records] never got a pass. It was a different time.”
Managing artists can sometimes be a hairy business.
“The Hells Angels came after me because I was the first guy to take over [managing The Rolling Stones] after Altamont [Free Concert]. I remember once they came into the office. Big Vinny [Vincent Girolamo] was 300 pounds. He had a nose ring. Jagger was there and he went and hid in the back bathroom. They hung me out of the window, 5th floor, 57th Street, by my ankle. I went to someone and said, ‘The Angels are after me. What can I do?’ And they said, ‘You’ve got to tell the FBI,’ which I did. The FBI said, ‘We’ll wire you up’ because the Angels wanted money to pay off legal fees. I remember a great quote the FBI played me back later on the tape where one of the [Hells Angels] said, ‘We like to cook young guys like you. We like to boil you.’ It was intimidating, but I bullshitted my way out of it.
“In the end, I was put in touch with [someone in] one of the, shall we say, New York families who was the father of a promoter that we used — a really high-level ranking guy. They sent someone down and said, ‘Leave him alone.’ And I never heard from [the Hells Angels] again, except in Europe we used to get them coming along but our guys used to handle it quite well. The guy that helped me out on that, the father of the promoter, was found three years later in the Hudson [River] without his head.”
“The only real gift you can give an artist is truth and objectivity.”
“There are moments where you have to be prepared to be fired or disagree and say, ‘Look, you’re wrong.’ I’m your eyes and your ears. I’m your radar. No one tells you the truth. They tell me the truth when you walk out of the room. Have you ever heard anyone in a room tell you anything other than, ‘That’s a great record?’ No, you haven’t. Have you ever come off stage and had anyone tell you, ‘That was a shit show?’ No, they haven’t.’ You’ve got to have someone who is telling you that. With James we had that relationship. We built it up over a long time and it’s based on trust. Some artists can accept it, and others can’t.”
“This business is all about relationships.”
“You’re going to see everybody on the way down that you saw on the way up. So don’t burn bridges and don’t beat people up when you’re in the position to. I could have been accused over the years of being a bastard. And, yes, I was at times. I was probably alcohol or drug fueled back in the ‘70s but so was everybody. I did jump on [former CBS Records chief executive] Walter Yetnikoff’s desk once and point my finger at him but that was the way you did things back then. I wouldn’t do it now. I feel now you don’t mug someone. You pick their pockets.”
Management can be a thankless job.
“I’m 78 now. I want to travel on my own terms because [artist] management — it’s not your life. It’s not your agenda. You’re constantly having to manage other people’s lives. You very rarely get an artist who will ever call you up and say, ‘Pete, how’s the family?’ It’s usually: ‘I know it’s Sunday morning but how do I get a cab?’ I’ve always said, you can negotiate a $5 million publishing contract for an artist but if the car you send them to go to the signing is late, you’re a bad manager. And you have to have that in the back of your head all the time. It’s insane.”
“You sacrifice a lot in this business.”
“I want to do other projects, but I want them to have a beginning and an end. I don’t want it seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. You sacrifice a lot in this business. I was on the road nonstop when my two kids were growing up. I hardly saw them. I’ve been separated because of that dysfunctionality of living half the time in America, half the time in England…It is exhausting. You wake up every morning to questions and it is Groundhog Day after a while. There’s really nothing you haven’t seen before. I think you get a little cynical and that’s not healthy in our business.”
Dysfunction isn’t always a bad thing.
“Bands that love each other break up out of boredom after three albums. When I promoted a Pink Floyd show they didn’t even want their trailers backstage in sight of each other. With Mick and Keith, I was involved in an album when they were never in the studio together at the same time. James are the most dysfunctional bunch of guys I’ve ever met. But when these bands get on stage, when they cross that white line, something special happens that I’ve always been in awe of.”
There’ll be many lows…
“The saddest point of my life, the worst, was the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash one week before they were going to headline Madison Square Garden [in 1977]. Bands south of the Mason–Dixon line didn’t get to play places like New York then and we were about to play it. That was a longstanding mission. I loved that band. I loved Ronnie Van Zant. That did break me.”
And many highs.
“The highs? There’s been so many. I’ve worked with some magnificent artists and some of the Roger Waters, Lynyrd Skynyrd or Duran Duran shows [were special]. James at Rock in Rio this summer was quite a moment for me. But nothing tops some of the Stones stuff. You know, Jagger leading a 200 people conga line down the LA Forum doing ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ [in 1975] was unbelievable. There’s been so many of those moments with so many bands. I have to say the last James tour when they sold out [London’s] The O2 [arena] and the Manchester Co-op Live — that gave me immense satisfaction and pride. It was the wonderful culmination of a 35-year journey.”
On Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, four days before the 67th annual Grammy Awards, the Recording Academy Producers & Engineers (P&E) Wing will honor producer, engineer and mixer Jimmy Douglass at its annual Grammy Week Celebration. The event will take place at The Preserve LA in East Hollywood.
“Our P&E Wing proudly celebrates Grammy Week each year with a special evening that unites producers, engineers and artistic professionals to honor a truly deserving creator,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “This year, we’re thrilled to pay tribute to the extraordinary Jimmy Douglass, who has led groundbreaking creative and technical efforts in the recording industry, encouraging artists to transcend genre boundaries and contributing to iconic musical projects that will resonate for generations.”
“Throughout his illustrious career spanning more than four decades, Jimmy’s visionary approach to producing, engineering and mixing has shaped some of music’s most iconic recordings,” said Maureen Droney, vp of the P&E Wing. “Jimmy consistently pushes the boundaries of sound by bringing unconventional techniques into the studio while inspiring countless artists along the way.”
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Douglass (also known as The Senator) is a five-time Grammy winner for his work on Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” (best dance recording, 2007); Timberlake’s “Love Stoned/I Think She Knows” (best dance recording, 2008); John Legend & The Roots’ Wake Up! (best R&B album, 2011), CeCe Winans’ Let Them Fall in Love (best gospel album, 2018) and Andra Day’s The United States vs. Billie Holiday (best compilation soundtrack for visual media, 2022).
Douglass has also received five album of the year nominations for his work on Missy Elliott’s Under Construction, Timberlake’s Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds, Pharrell Williams’ Girl, and Jay-Z’s 4:44. He has additionally notched two record of the year nods for Timberlake’s “What Goes Around…Comes Around” and Jay-Z’s “The Story of O.J.”
In addition to paying tribute to Douglass, the event will celebrate the year-round work of the Producers & Engineers Wing and its members.
Grammy Week culminates with the 67th Annual Grammy Awards at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, broadcasting live on CBS and streaming live and on-demand on Paramount+ from 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT. Prior to the telecast, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be held at the Peacock Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET and be streamed live on live.Grammy.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel.