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Warner Music Group reported on Thursday that total revenue for its fiscal year rose 6% compared to a year-ago on strong digital and streaming subscription revenue. The company reported $6.43 billion in total revenue for the twelve months ending on Sept. 30, up 6% from the roughly $6 billion the company generated in the 12-months […]
California prosecutors are flatly rejecting claims made by Tory Lanez’s legal team that the gun he allegedly used to shoot Megan Thee Stallion is “missing,” calling the accusations about vanished evidence “demonstrably false” and “troubling.”
In a brief filed Monday (Nov. 18) in a California appeals court, the state attorney general’s office fired back at a recent so-called habeas corpus petition filed by Lanez’s attorneys — one of several forms of appeal he has filed seeking to overturn his felony convictions over the 2020 shooting.
In their brief last month, Lanez’s lawyers claimed that key pieces of evidence — the gun used in the shooting and bullet fragments removed from Megan’s foot — had not been made available to defense attorneys, violating the singer’s constitutional right to due process.
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But in this week’s response, the government said that simply wasn’t true.
“Without providing any documentary evidence or a declaration from either habeas counsel or a custodian of evidence for the Los Angeles Police Department, petitioner simply asserts that the firearm and bullet fragments have not been preserved,” prosecutors wrote. “Petitioner’s failure … is especially troubling in this case because the factual assertions are demonstrably false.”
The filing cited a sworn declaration by an LAPD officer that the department “still has custody of the firearm and the firearm’s magazine, as well as the casings and fragments.”
Attorneys for Lanez did not immediately return a request for comment.
Lanez (Daystar Peterson) was convicted in December 2022 on three felony counts over the violent 2020 incident, in which he shot at the feet of Megan (real name Megan Pete) during an argument following a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s house in the Hollywood Hills. According to prosecutors, when Megan got out of the vehicle and began walking away, Lanez shouted “Dance, bitch!” and fired a gun at her feet. In August 2023, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Lanez has appealed his convictions to California’s Court of Appeal, arguing that the judge allowed improper testimony and evidence, resulting in a “a miscarriage of justice.” He’s also filed two so-called habeas corpus petitions, a more drastic legal method for challenging a criminal conviction.
In the latest petition, Lanez’s attorney claimed his right to due process had been violated by the government’s “failure to produce and preserve evidence.” They claimed that because the gun and the fragments were missing, they were “unable to conduct further testing” that might help prove his innocence, like searching for fingerprints or DNA of other possible shooters.
In Monday’s response, prosecutors argued that not only was the evidence available for re-testing but that doing so would not help Lanez overturn his conviction.
“The prosecution did not even rely on the DNA results in arguing petitioner’s guilt,” the state wrote. “Under these circumstances, it is inconceivable that DNA testing could undermine the entire prosecution case and point unerringly to innocence or reduced culpability, as is required to establish a claim of actual innocence.”
Sony Music has settled a lawsuit filed by a former assistant to Columbia Records chief executive Ron Perry who claimed she was forced to resign after pushing back on hiring practices that allegedly discriminated against white applicants.
In a filing Tuesday (Nov. 19), attorneys for both sides told a federal judge that they had “reached a settlement in principle” to resolve the lawsuit, in which Patria Paulino claimed she was told she could “only hire Black candidates.” Sony had called those accusations “contradictory and false” and was actively seeking to have the case dismissed when the settlement was reached.
The specific terms of the agreement, including whether any money exchanged hands, were not disclosed in court filings. A spokesperson for Sony declined to comment on Wednesday (Nov. 20); an attorney for Paulino did not return a request for comment.
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Paulino sued Sony and Perry in February, claiming she had been effectively terminated as retaliation because she pushed back on race-conscious hiring practices.
After being hired in late 2022, Paulino claimed that she was repeatedly told she could not hire white candidates for a vacant assistant role in Perry’s office. She says that Perry had been hit with “multiple racial discrimination complaints by former employees” and that he and the company wanted to “have more color in his office.”
Despite the directives to aim for diversity, Paulino’s lawsuit claimed she “continued to recommend qualified Caucasian applicants” for the role. At one point, when she advanced a particular white candidate, she says that another Sony employee told her in writing: “We can’t hire another white Jewish girl unfortunately.”
The lawsuit came in the wake of a high-profile U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that outlawed the use of race-conscious admissions in higher education, commonly known as “affirmative action.” Though that ruling didn’t directly deal with hiring or with the state laws at issue in Paulino’s case, it has led to overall increased scrutiny of corporate practices aimed at diversity, equity and inclusion.
A week after Paulino filed her case, Sony asked the judge to toss it out of court. Far from being effectively terminated, Sony said she had instead “voluntarily resigned after receiving unfavorable performance feedback.” The label said she had filed her case simply “to harass her former employer and boss” with a “contradictory and false” lawsuit.
“She alleges … that defendants both discriminated against her because they preferred white employees but also constructively discharged her because she would not play along with their preference for non-white employees,” the label’s lawyers wrote, adding the italics themselves for emphasis. “In reality, plaintiff worked for Sony … for less than five months, performed poorly, and was a willing participant in the entirely legal hiring practices she now alleges were discriminatory.”
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.