State Champ Radio Music News
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Música mexicana singer-songwriter Codiciado has filed a lawsuit against his old record label, Rancho Humilde, and former bandmates in the ensemble Grupo Codiciado, claiming they stole his intellectual property by getting the band back together under the name Los Codicia2 after he went solo.
Codiciado (Erick de Jesús Aragón Alcantar) made the accusations in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday (June 10) against Rancho Humilde; the label’s trio of co-founders, Jaime Humilde, Jose “JB” Becerra and Roque “Rocky” Venegas; and former Grupo Codiciado members Alexis Aguirre, Ivan Ramirez and Giovanni Rodriguez Meza.
Grupo Codiciado formed in Tijuana in 2015 and later signed with Rancho Humilde; it reached No. 8 on the Regional Mexican Albums chart with Miro Lo Que Otros No Miran in 2018. The group disbanded in 2021, after which its lead singer, Codiciado, went solo, returning to the Billboard charts with his song “Vamos Aclarando Muchas Cosas” in 2023 and launching a successful tour the following year.
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The trouble started when Aguirre, Ramirez and Rodriguez Meza debuted a new group called Los Codicia2, pronounced “Los Codiciados,” under Rancho Humilde at the beginning of 2025. Codiciado claims the group’s name infringes his own trademarked moniker.
“The infringing mark adopted and used by defendants is practically identical to plaintiff’s marks,” wrote Codiciado’s lawyers. “This mark differs from plaintiff’s ‘CODICIADO’ mark only in that the final letter is ‘S’ and in the preceding term ‘LOS.’”
Codiciado says Rancho Humilde and his former bandmates are purposefully trying to mislead fans into thinking he’s affiliated with or endorses the new group, stating in the lawsuit that they’re attempting to “trade on the goodwill of plaintiff’s marks, cause confusion and deception in the marketplace and divert potential sales of plaintiff’s products to defendants.”
According to Codiciado, this alleged wrongdoing has persisted despite his sending multiple cease-and-desist letters to the label and band. He’s now seeking a court injunction to make them stop, plus monetary damages for trademark infringement, trademark dilution and unfair competition.
“Defendants’ acts are causing and, unless restrained, will continue to cause incalculable damage and immediate irreparable harm to plaintiff and to his valuable reputation and goodwill with the consuming public for which plaintiff has no adequate remedy at law,” the lawsuit reads.
Representatives for Codiciado declined to comment on the claims. Rancho Humilde did not immediately return requests for comment.
Leon Thomas’ breakout hit “Mutt” conquers another radio ranking as it climbs to No. 1 on Billboard’s Rhythmic Airplay chart (dated June 14). The single steps from the runner-up spot to become the most-played song on United States panel-contributing rhythmic radio stations in the tracking week of May 30-June 5, according to Luminate. For its […]
The Alchemist could’ve had a beat on Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter VI. HipHopDX caught up with the living legend outside the 2025 BET Awards and asked if he and Lil Wayne have ever been in the studio together. “Not lately,” he answered before revealing that he often keeps in touch with Wayne’s camp and was […]
A federal judge has issued a gag order in Megan Thee Stallion’s defamation lawsuit against gossip blogger Milagro Gramz over the Tory Lanez shooting, citing warnings from the star’s lawyers that ongoing posts about Megan could “incite violence.”
The ruling came in a lawsuit Megan filed against Gramz (Milagro Cooper) last year, claiming the YouTuber had been “churning out falsehoods” on behalf of Lanez, who is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan in 2020.
At a court hearing last week, Megan’s attorneys warned the judge that Gramz had continued to post “derogatory statements” about the superstar even after she sued her. Attorneys for Gramz argued back that she was merely responding to statements from Megan.
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In a ruling issued Tuesday (June 10), Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid settled the spat by simply ordering both sides to stop discussing the case publicly — a decision that came with a reminder that “the First Amendment right to free speech is not absolute.”
“Both plaintiff’s and defendant’s social media postings have been viewed by their large following and plaintiff’s counsel expressed concern that defendant’s posts have generated severely critical and derogatory comments about plaintiff by defendant’s social media followers and could incite acts of violence,” the judge wrote. “As such, further extrajudicial statements by plaintiff and defendant could taint the jury pool.”
Neither side immediately returned requests for comment — unsurprisingly, given that they are now subject to a gag order.
Lanez (Daystar Peterson) was convicted in December 2022 on three felony counts over the 2020 shooting, in which he shot at the feet of Megan during an argument following a pool party at Kylie Jenner’s house in the Hollywood Hills. In August 2023, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He has filed an appeal, which remains pending.
In an October civil lawsuit, Megan’s attorneys accused Gramz of repeatedly spreading falsehoods about that criminal case, including questioning whether Megan was even shot at all and claiming she was “caught trying to deceive the courts.” More recently, they said Gramz had pushed the “outlandish claim” that the gun Lanez used in the shooting had gone missing from evidence.
The lawsuit claimed the blogger made those claims because she was serving as a “mouthpiece and puppet” for Lanez as the singer sat behind bars. In an updated version of the lawsuit filed in December, Megan’s attorneys said prison call logs suggested that Lanez and his father had arranged to pay Gramz.
In February, a judge ruled that the case could move ahead. Denying a request by Gramz to dismiss the lawsuit, the judge said Megan had made a “compelling case” that the blogger had defamed her by claiming the star lied during Lanez’s trial and that she was “mentally retarded.”
“Plaintiff’s claims extend far beyond mere negligence — they paint a picture of an intentional campaign to destroy her reputation,” the judge wrote. “That is more than enough to [deny the motion to dismiss].”
In her gag order Tuesday, Judge Reid said that neither Megan nor Gramz “nor anyone acting on either parties’ behalf” can discuss the case “in any public forum or manner” while it remains pending. And she warned that violators of the order could be held in contempt of court.
Miley Cyrus‘ Bangerz era was pretty unforgettable, with the pop star repeatedly shocking the world through risqué outfits and provocative performances at a time when many still associated her with the squeaky-clean image of Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana.
But during a candid interview with Monica Lewinsky on her Reclaiming podcast posted Tuesday (June 10), the pop star revealed just how much the backlash affected her — and her relationships with her family — when it all went down circa 2013. “That was the time where I just got hit so hard, and I was so embarrassed,” she said, referring to the criticism.
“There was even a time where my brother and sister didn’t want to go to school, because of how humiliated they were to be related to me,” she continued. “I had a lot of guilt about how hard it would’ve been to be my sibling or my parent, and how embarrassing.”
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Cyrus has five siblings, including half-sister Brandi, half-brothers Trace and Christopher, brother Braison and sister Noah. In addition to affecting the lives of her siblings, the Grammy winner said that the years surrounding the release of her Bangerz album also put a strain on her relationships with her father, Billy Ray Cyrus — “It was really hard for me to go home and see my dad and look him in the eyes and not feel super embarrassed,” she noted — and her grandmother.
She also said that she has since worked through the feelings of shame that lingered from that time period in therapy, but was very honest about how she “lost everything” as a result of her risqué persona. “If I kept dressing or acting a certain way, my relationships fell apart,” Cyrus said. “No one wanted to date me, because they didn’t want to be with a woman [whose] sexual expression part was not for them, it was like shared with the world.”
“I was engaged at the time,” she continued, referring to ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. “That didn’t work out, because I was sharing a part of myself that men wanted to be saved for them only.”
Cyrus has come a long way since the events of 2013, the most memorable of which was arguably her parental-panic-inducing, half-nude performance alongside Robin Thicke at that year’s MTV VMAs. Though Bangerz spawned her first-ever Billboard Hot 100 hit with “Wrecking Ball,” she has since outdone herself with the eight-week chart reign of “Flowers,” which also earned the singer her first-ever Grammys at the 2024 ceremony. Cyrus is now fresh off the release of her new album, Something Beautiful, which debuted this week at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.
But while the criticism she faced more than a decade ago hurt in the moment, Cyrus says she now understands why it was so extreme. “What I did wasn’t shocking, it was who I was that was shocking,” pointing out that her past as the kid-friendly Hannah Montana character made her pivot feel even more disturbing to the public.
To give an example, Cyrus pointed out that, in comparison, barely anyone batted an eye at Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” in 2021. “But Cardi B isn’t for kids,” the Black Mirror alum acknowledged. “She’s not a child star. For me it was hard to go, ‘Why is Rihanna not in trouble?’”
Watch Cyrus’ full interview with Lewinsky above.
Former Newsboys member Michael Tait, who abruptly left the Contemporary Christian Music group in January, is speaking out about allegations of sexual misconduct and drug use brought against him over the past week.
In a lengthy Instagram post titled “My Confession, Michael Tait, June 10, 2025,” the singer-songwriter — who was also a founding member of Christian rap and rock trio DC Talk — directly addressed the reports, writing, “Recent reports of my reckless and destructive behavior, including drug and alcohol abuse and sexual activity are sadly, largely true. For some two decades, I used and abused cocaine, consumed far too much alcohol and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way. I am ashamed of my life choices and actions, and make no excuses for them. I will simply call it what God calls it– sin. I don’t blame anyone or anything but myself. While I might dispute certain details in the accusations against me, I do not dispute the substance of them.”
Tait noted that following his departure from Newsboys, he spent six weeks at a treatment center in Utah, saying, “I was not healthy, spiritually or physically, and was tired of leading a double life.” He said he has been “clean and sober” since his time at the center, though he adds, “I still have lots of hard work ahead of me.”
He wrote, “I’m ashamed to admit that for years I have lied and deceived my family, friends, fans and even misled my bandmates about aspects of my life. I was, for the most part, living two distinctly different lives. I was not the same person onstage Sunday night that I was at home on Monday. … By His grace I can say that for the past six months, I have lived a singular life, one of utter brokenness and total dependence on a loving and merciful God.”
He also said that he is “committed to continuing the hard work of repentance” and that he will be doing so “quietly and privately, away from the stage and spotlight.”
He wrote: “I have hurt so many people in so many ways, and I will live with that shameful reality the rest of my life. I can only dream and pray for human forgiveness, because I certainly don’t deserve it. … Still, I want to say I am sorry to everyone I have hurt. I am truly sorry. It is my hope and prayer that all those I have hurt will receive healing, mercy and hope from the Merciful Healer and Hope-Giver.”
Last week, The Roys Report published what it called the results of a two-and-a-half-year investigation into allegations against Tait. The report included accounts from three people who claimed that Tait groomed and sexually assaulted them while on tour or at Tait’s home; the accusers alleged that the incidents took place between 2004 and 2014, while the report claimed that other sources said Tait had also been involved in drug use.
Current Newsboys members responded to that report last week, encouraging victims to come forward and stating, “We are horrified, heartbroken and angry at this report and in many ways, we feel as if we and our families have been deceived for the past fifteen years.”
Prior to his work with Newsboys, Tait was also known for his work as part of the groundbreaking CCM trio DC Talk from 1988 to 2001. Alongside fellow DC Talk members TobyMac and Kevin Max, Tait found success with songs such as “Jesus Freak” and the Billboard Hot 100 hit “Between You and Me.” Their 1995 album Jesus Freak rose to No. 16 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and earned a Grammy for best rock gospel album.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
“Weird Al” Yankovic has had a storied career creating song parodies of some of the biggest artists in the world. But the singer can’t seem to get over his recent appearance on the cover of Billboard.
While speaking to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Tuesday (June 10), Yankovic gushed about gracing our latest ahead of his upcoming Bigger and Weirder Tour. “That was such a big deal to me, because I grew up being obsessed with Billboard magazine,” he raved, saying that the cover slot means that an artist has “made it” in his eyes. “That was like the bible of the entertainment industry.”
The recognition was especially meaningful to him as he says his name was spelled incorrectly in his first-ever Billboard magazine appearance (whoops). “They misspelled my name, and you’d think it would be ‘Yankovic,’” he recalled, laughing. “But it was ‘Weird Owl.’”
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Also on The Tonight Show, Yankovic revealed that he tried multiple times to get Princes’s approval on a song before his death in 2016. “Prince is like the one guy who was never into it, and he’s got a good sense of humor,” Yankovic began, noting that he once heard a recording of the late icon praising one of his spoofs.
“When it came to parodying one of his songs, not so much,” the musician continued, revealing that he submitted at least “half a dozen” rejected requests to Prince.
Yankovic also shared one of the ideas that never got Prince’s sign-off: a parody of the funk-pop star’s hit song “1999,” which would’ve been called “$19.99” and written in the style of a TV infomercial. “This killed me, because I thought it was going to be really funny,” Yankovic said on the late-night show.
Though Prince was never down for his songs to get the Weird Al treatment, the comedian has made joke-filled versions of hits originally by Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, Queen, Police and countless other stars over the course of his decades-long career. Even Don McLean, who is supposedly hard to convince on the parody front, allowed Yankovic to put his own spin on “American Pie,” telling Billboard of the resulting Star Wars-themed “The Saga Begins,” “I thought it was better than the original.”
But because Yankovic has always been diligent about getting artist’s permissions before parodying them, he told Fallon that he won’t ever attempt to remake a Prince song in the future. “I try to respect the wishes of the artist, and he made his wishes very, very clear while he was with us,” Yankovic said on the late-night show, earning laughs from the audience.
Watch Yankovic’s full interview with Fallon above.
15 years ago, Wiz Khalifa solidified his mixtape legacy with the release of Kush & Orange Juice, and he returned with a sequel to the classic project earlier this year. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The Pittsburgh native traveled to the NPR offices to make his […]
Doechii’s “Anxiety” entered its third-straight week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Radio Songs chart on Monday (June 9) after spending a total of 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 9. But the song, which samples of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know,” isn’t just a megahit for the Florida singer and rapper.
Billboard estimates that the publishers of the Belgian-Australian indie rocker Gotye and the Brazilian born jazz-pop artist Luis Bonfá — whose 1967 hit “Seville” is sampled in “Somebody” — could earn as much as $72,000 each from the success of “Anxiety.”
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“Sampling is a big business,” says Michael Poster, chair of music acquisitions and financing at law firm Michelman & Robinson, LLP. When an old hit is revived through a sample, both the masters and publishing rightsholders stand to earn a cut; the publisher becomes a co-owner of the new song; and the old song will likely see an uptick in streaming activity and synch opportunities, industry sources say.
Doechii’s “Anxiety,” Gotye’s “Somebody” and Bonfá’s “Seville” have all seen “a significant increase… in popularity and consumption” since the March release of Doechii’s hit, says Pär Almqvist, CEO of Sweden-based publishing administration company AYO.
As of Monday (June 9), “Anxiety” has generated nearly 1.2 million song consumption units in the United States, where it has racked up nearly 165 million total on-demand streams and roughly 284,000 airplay spins, according to Luminate.
Billboard estimates that those streams, spins and sales of Doechii’s “Anxiety” have generated about $1.165 million in master recording and publishing revenues combined so far this year.
It is unclear exactly how much Gotye directly stands to earn from that amount, but “Anxiety” credits three songwriters: Jaylah Ji’mya Hickmon, or Doechii; Walter André De Backer, or Gotye; and Bonfá.
DMG Clearances, which secured consent from the copyright holders of “Somebody That I Used to Know” for Doechii’s team, declined to comment on the terms of the licensing deals, citing confidentiality.
Deborah Mannis-Gardner, owner/president of DMG Clearances, says that because “Anxiety” lifted directly from the original recording of “Somebody” to incorporate it into a new song, DMG secured consent from both the master and publishing rightsholders. (Songs that interpolate, rather than sample, earlier hits only need to get consent from the publishing side.)
Mannis-Gardner says that sampled songs see twofold benefits: First, the publisher gets an ownership stake in the new song, thereby increasing the size of its catalog. Additionally, fans of Doechii’s “Anxiety” may find their way to streaming Gotye’s “Somebody,” which could then lead them to “Seville” — and both of those songs are likely to field synch inquiries.
Poster and Mannis-Gardner both say that in typical sample deals, the publisher owns a percentage of the copyright to the new song. Industry sources say it is also typical that publishers will negotiate a one-off, non-recoupable licensing fee of at least a few thousand dollars in addition.
If, as one-third co-writers, Gotye’s and Bonfá’s publishers negotiated 30% of the songwriting credit for “Anxiety,” that could result in nearly $72,000 each to Gotye and Bonfá’s publishers, with Gotye and Bonfá netting anywhere from $36,000 to almost $68,000, if they own their own publishing and have administration deals, Billboard estimates.
Industry sources say Gotye’s and Bonfá’s publishers’ likely got smaller cuts than that. However, what the artists stand to earn from the streaming and synch bumps to their catalogs, though harder to calculate, will also add to their bottom line.
“A sample elevates and increases the value of a song,” Mannis-Gardner says. “But keep in mind, music licensing, including sampling, is an emotional business. Approvals, denials and sample values are not based on a rate sheet. It is how the sampled copyright holder and creator feel about the new use.”
Ice Spice is taking a trip to Bikini Bottom soon, with the rapper officially securing her spot in an upcoming SpongeBob Squarepants movie. Per Deadline, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation announced on Tuesday (June 9) the new cast for the upcoming film The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants. Spice was announced alongside Regina Hall, Sherry […]
