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24 Aug 2023

Arrest Ordered For Antonio Brown After Judge Ruled He Owes Unpaid Child Support For The 2nd Time This Year

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Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown is in trouble with the law in Florida—once again. It’s the third time within the last few years that Brown has been sought after by law enforcement over a situation involving his ex, Wiltrice Jackson, and the second time in one year he’s been sought after because he owed Jackson child support.

Oh, and the second time in the last few years he was sought after over allegations of domestic violence. 

It’s possible the man has problems.

According to TMZ, Miami-Dade County court documents show that a judge has ordered Brown’s arrest after ruling earlier this month that he owes his ex $15,000 in unpaid child support, which is actually a 50% improvement from the $30,000 he owed her in April, which he paid before he was put in jail. 

From TMZ:

Brown and Jackson dated in the early stages of the former wide receiver’s football career … and have a daughter together.

The two, however, have had their share of ups and downs since … with Jackson accusing Brown of shoving her during a domestic dispute in 2019. Brown was never charged in the case.

As previously reported, last December, a warrant was issued for Brown’s arrest following another woman’s allegations of domestic violence, and it led to a standoff between Brown and Tampa Police.

This might be a good time to mention that Brown was also kicked out of a Hotel pool in Dubai for exposing himself just a few months before the December incident.

Let’s hope he gets the help he clearly needs.

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24 Aug 2023

The Deals: Kids’ Audio Platform Yoto Plays With UMG; Round Hill Acquires Linus Entertainment

Kids’ audio platform Yoto, which is behind the screen-free Yoto Player and Yoto Mini, signed an industry-first agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG) to bring music titles and artists from its labels and catalogs to the platform for the first time. Founded by Ben Drury and Filip Denker, Yoto allows children to access music without being exposed to advertising or unsuitable content. The UMG partnership kicked off this month with the launch of Queen’s Greatest Hits: Volume 1 as a “Yoto Card.” That will be followed in the coming months by releases from artists like Bob Marley & the Wailers and labels including Motown Records and Disney Music Group. The Queen cards will be available on Yoto webstores in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union; Yoto Amazon stores in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada; and the Queen online store.

Round Hill Music acquired Linus Entertainment, the Canadian independent music company that includes the recording and publishing catalogs of Borealis Records, Mummy Dust Music, Solid Gold Records, Stony Plain Records, The Children’s Group and True North Records, as well as the distribution company Independent Digital Licensing Agency Inc (IDLA). The acquisition encompasses over 3,000 songs and more than 20,000 master recordings. It includes recordings from Buffy Sainte-Marie, Gordon Lightfoot and Taj Mahal, among many others.

Reservoir Media and PopArabia jointly acquired the catalog of Cairo-based content production and distribution company RE Media, encompassing sub-labels Moseeqa and Moseeqa TV and several of RE Media’s owned and operated YouTube channels. The acquisition includes more than 6,000 recordings and compositions from artists such as Amr Diab, George Wassouf, Dalida and Mohamed Mounir. Reservoir and PopArabia additionally acquired the master and publishing rights for the catalog of Egyptian rap duo El Sawareekh.

Timbaland acquired a stake in lifestyle and vinyl brand 12on12, where he will serve as a strategic partner and curator. According to a press release, 12on12 allows “cultural icons” to curate soundtracks of 12 songs “that have inspired, affected and influenced them,” which are then pressed on 12″ vinyl. Timbaland is currently working on his own 12on12 release that will drop at the beginning of next year. His Verzuz partner Swizz Beatz previously acquired a stake in the company in February 2022; since then, 12on12 has expanded into releasing limited edition fine art prints and lifestyle pieces featuring co-curators’ artwork. The company has already collaborated with Run DMC, Swizz Beatz and Travis Scott x Saint Laurent, among others.

Apple Podcasts added several new hosting providers that will support Delegated Delivery, which allows creators to publish subscriber episodes directly from their participating hosting provider dashboard. The new partners are Audiomeans, Captivate, Podbean, Podspace and Transistor, all of which will support Delegated Delivery by the end of 2023. Elsewhere, the company revealed an exclusive integration with Linkfire, which is expanding into podcasting this fall with a toolkit built specifically for podcasters. Using that toolkit, podcasters on Apple Podcasts will have the ability to generate an unlimited number of smart links with landing pages for their podcasts and measure how listeners engage with them using the Linkfire Insights dashboard.

The Salzburg Festival is making its operas, orchestral concerts, lieder recitals and chamber music exclusively available on the recently launched Apple Music Classical streaming platform. More than 100 such recordings are already available at launch.

Matthew Berry‘s fantasy sports and sports betting media company FantasyLife closed a $2 million dollar friends and family round from investors including John Legend, YouTube co-founder/former CEO Chad Hurley and Wasserman Media Group chairman/CEO Casey Wasserman, among many others. Hurley, Wasserman and The SpringHill Company co-founder/CEO Maverick Carter (also an investor, with LeBron James’ LRMR Ventures) will also join the FantasyLife advisory board. Fantasy Life additionally announced new partnerships with brands including Epic Seats, Webex by Cisco and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Believe‘s global dance and electronic imprint b:electronic signed Berlin-based house and techno label mobilee records and Feathers & Bones, the new label from electronic artist Rodriguez Jr.

The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University and E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt’s TeachRock education program announced they would team up to help teachers bring American popular music into the curriculums of classrooms across the United States. Future collaborations will include teacher workshops, student internships, seminars and conferences, curriculum development and joint research activities. The efforts between the two organizations will begin at Asbury Park Middle School and High Schools in New Jersey with the Harmony Student Wellness Program, which uses “popular music as a springboard” for lessons around self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, responsible decision-making and social awareness, according to the TeachRock website.

Absolute Label Services partnered with Prestige Management for the release of Busted’s forthcoming Greatest Hits 2.0 compilation. Absolute will provide a range of services for the release, including distribution, marketing and project management. The album compiles newly-recorded versions of all of Busted’s biggest hits, fan favorites and live staples, with deluxe formats featuring a number of previously unreleased collaborations with artists including McFly, James Arthur, You Me At Six, The Vamps, Bowling For Soup, Dashboard Confessional, Deaf Havana, Wheatus and Charlotte Sands.

24 Aug 2023

Australia’s Music Industry Welcomes ‘Landmark Moment’ as Creative Australia Launches

SYDNEY, Australia — A new chapter unfolds for Australia’s music community with the activation of Creative Australia, the centerpiece of the federal government’s National Cultural Policy, Revive, which its architects hope will turn Australia into a music powerhouse.

On Thursday (Aug. 24), as the Creative Australia Act 2023 came into effect, federal minister for the arts Tony Burke officially unveiled Creative Australia and its new board, led by chairman Robert Morgan and deputy chair Wesley Enoch.

Creative Australia is an expanded and modernized Australia Council for the Arts which, Burke says, “will bring the drive, direction and vision that Australian artists have been calling out for.”

The government agency’s CEO Adrian Collette will chair the newly-appointed Music Australia council, an eight-strong board of artists and music industry experts, which includes legendary concerts promoter Michael Chugg and was unveiled earlier in the week.

“Pleasingly,” comments Evelyn Richardson, CEO of Live Performance Australia, “Creative Australia comes to life with the restoration of funding that was lost under the previous government’s budget cuts in 2014, as well as new initiatives such as Music Australia and Creative Workplaces.”

To fully “realize its ambition and promise,” she continues, “it will be important that current and future governments are committed to greater investment in our cultural and creative industries through Creative Australia.”

The music industry has long advocated for a new body to help Australia’s commercial music sector reach new heights at home and abroad.

When Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor government was formed in 2022, ending the nine-year administration of the center-right Liberal Party, hope turned to action.

In the months that followed the federal election, Burke welcomed key representative bodies of the Australian contemporary music industry leaders to consult on the policy, from which Revive was shaped.

In January, prime minister Albanese presented Revive to the industry and the public, and with it, the promise of a new Music Australia, a reimagined national music development agency that would support and invest in the development of Australian contemporary music.

The policy is an ambitious year-long action plan, structured around five interconnected pillars and underpinned by a commitment for new, additional investment totaling A$286 million (US$202 million) — record levels of arts funding. Music Australia alone is funded to the tune of A$69 million ($44 million) over four years.

The establishment of Music Australia is a “landmark moment for Australia’s music industry,” says Dean Ormston, CEO of APRA AMCOS. “It represents for the first time in the nation’s history that we have had a long-term commitment from government to work in partnership with industry to make Australia a music powerhouse,” he adds.

“We look forward to working with Music Australia chair and Creative Australia CEO Adrian Collette and the rest of the council to fully realize the cultural, economic and social benefits of a vibrant, healthy and sustainable music industry accessible to all Australians, and the world.”

The Creative Australia Bill, which lays the legal framework for the existence of Music Australia, passed parliament and was enshrined into law in June. Today’s development was a formality, but an important one.

“Now it all comes down to execution,” comments ARIA and PPCA CEO Annabelle Herd. “Now is the time to think big, consult wide, and deliver the solutions that Australian recording artists and industry professionals deserve; restoring the infrastructure to help them achieve sustainable careers at home and providing a greater platform for them to reach new audiences by cutting through an increasingly saturated market.”

Australia’s contemporary music industry, she continues, “is an incredible incubator for world-class talent. But for the world to discover that talent, we need the right strategic support and investment. There’s no time to waste.”

Work is “already underway” to establish Music Australia and Creative Workplaces within Creative Australia, reads a statement from the Creative Australia office.

In 2024, the inaugural First Nations-led board will be established, building on the Australia Council’s 50-year history of investment in First Nations Arts and Culture. And in 2025, Writers Australia will be established.

Read the full National Cultural Policy here.

Music Australia Council:
Fred Alale, co-founder and chair of African Music and Cultural Festivals Inc.
Lisa Baker, manager of creative cultural development, City of Playford
Danielle Caruana (Mama Kin), artist and founder/director of The Seed Fund
Michael Chugg, founder of Chugg Entertainment
Petrina Convey, owner and director of UNITY. Mgmt
Fred Leone, artist
Nathan McLay, CEO of Future Classic
Dr Sophie Payten (Gordi), artist

Australia Council Board of Creative Australia:
Adrian Collette AM
Robert Morgan (Chair)
Wesley Enoch AM (Deputy Chair)
Rosheen Garnon
Stephen Found
Christine Simpson Stokes AM
Philip Watkins
Alexandra Dimos
Caroline Bowditch
Courtney Stewart
Kitty Taylor
Lindy Lee
Caroline Wood
Amanda Jackes

24 Aug 2023

Andrea Bocelli Shares His Life Like Never Before in Upcoming ‘Because I Believe’ Documentary

Entertainment One announced on Thursday (Aug. 24) that it will be producing and financing an upcoming documentary for Italian superstar Andrea Bocelli.

Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe will be filmed in Italy and America as it delves into the 64-year-old singer’s musical talent as well as his personal life, offering never-before-seen insights into his life story as well as scenes beyond the stage with his family and friends.

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The Cosima Spender-directed film features Bocelli and his wife Veronica Bocelli as executive producers alongside Scott Rodger, Francesco Pasquero and eOne’s Tara Long, Malcolm Gerrie, Matt Pritchard and Geno McDermott. Jan Younghusband serves as the doc’s producer.

“It’s always a privilege to be invited into someone else’s world,” Spender said in a press release. “When that person is Andrea Bocelli, it’s an opportunity to delve into a landscape of sounds, memories, and opera that are entirely unique to him. Andrea and I instantly recognized each other thanks to the simple fact: we were born and grew up in the same rural Tuscan region. This meant an immediate understanding of sense of humor, attitude to life, and a shared attachment to the land we come from.”

“This film is a truly unique insight into the life and times of the world’s most loved tenor,” Younghusband adds. “It is an honor to work with Andrea and his family, friends, and colleagues and to support this unique collaboration with filmmaker Cosima Spender, as the Maestro shares his wisdom as never before about the road to his success.”

Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe is currently in production and is scheduled for release next year, which coincides with Bocelli’s milestone 30th anniversary in the music industry.

24 Aug 2023

Bob Dylan Center, Universal Publishing Open Doors to Songwriter Fellowship

Songwriters now have a new prize to aim for, one that carries the name of arguably the greatest of them all — Bob Dylan.

The Bob Dylan Center Songwriter Fellowship will be awarded each year to two songwriters, an initiative that identifies, mentors and develops rising talent, doing so with the resources of the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, OK.

An initiative of Universal Music Publishing Group and BDC, each Fellowship includes a $40,000 project stipend, public engagement and presentation opportunities, dedicated time in the Bob Dylan Archive to study the legendary artist’s creative process, roundtrip airfare to Tulsa and accommodations, mentorship from the music publishing giant’s songwriters and executives, recording time, and more.

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Joining the initial judges panel are Juliette Armanet, Patty Griffin, John Mellencamp, Carla Morrison and Nas.

The Fellowship is “core to our mission of educating, motivating and inspiring visitors to engage their own capacity as creators,” comment BDC director Steven Jenkins, “and we cannot wait to hear the entries from undiscovered talent around the world.”

Eligible creators from around the globe can submit their work from now through Oct. 18, 2023. To meet the Fellowship criteria, entrants must be 18 years or older and unsigned to a publishing agreement of any kind at the time of the Fellowship start date, May, 1, 2024.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity to connect developing talent with the works of one of the greatest songwriters of all time,” comments UMPG COO Marc Cimino, adding, “we look forward to developing a new group of songwriters in this unique environment.”

The Fellowship, which runs from May 2024 through April 2025, is presented 15 months after the grand opening of the BDC, the museum and archive celebrating the Nobel laureate’s work.

Its 100,000-item collection was acquired in 2016 by the George Kaiser Family Foundation for an estimated $20 million. Visitors get a full-picture of Dylan’s career, including handwritten manuscripts, notebooks and correspondence; films, videos, photographs and artwork; unreleased studio and concert recordings; musical instruments and more.

For further details visit bobdylancenter.com/songwriterfellowship.

23 Aug 2023

Proud Pops: Drake Shares ‘For All The Dogs’ LP Cover Drawn By His Son

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Lollapalooza Chile 2023 - Day 2

Drake is the proud father of an elementary school boy and like any other dad worth his salt, he’s all about promoting the artistic visions of his progeny. For the Canadian superstar’s upcoming studio album, Adonis Graham will get a credit for his father’s For All The Dogs album cover, which Drake just revealed.

For All The Dogs is the upcoming eighth studio album for Drake, who has remained active over the past with projects like Honestly, Nevermind, and the collaborative album with 21 Savage, Her Loss. While the theme of the new album is mostly unknown aside from a feature from Nicki Minaj and Bad Bunny, the album cover’s reveal was a big step in letting fans in on what to expect.

The album cover looks like a dog that was drawn by a kid still in elementary school but that, in our opinion, is what makes it dope. It isn’t known if Drake directed his boy in the direction of the piece but the dog on the cover is menacing and maybe that means Drizzy is coming for necks this time around.

There is no release date announced for the new album so speculation remains at the center. That said, fans of Drake are awaiting the new album and hopefully, they won’t have much longer to wait.

Check out the image below.

—

Photo: Marcelo Hernandez / Getty

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23 Aug 2023

John Farnham Given ‘All Clear’ Following Cancer Battle: ‘Bring on 2024’

John Farnham is cancer-free and feeling like “the luckiest man alive.”

The legendary Australian singer shared the good news to mark the anniversary of a marathon operation to remove a cancerous growth from his mouth.

“It’s been a year since my first surgery and to be honest I’ve lost count as to how many other procedures there’s been since then. I’m sure someone’s kept track of them all — let’s just say, there’s been a few,” he writes in a statement.

“But, I’m home now and I’m a very grateful and happy man.”

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The 74-year-old artist underwent eight weeks of radiation treatment after that initial surgery, and was given the “all clear” from doctors last month.

“It’s only now that I can start to appreciate and comprehend, for myself, how many messages of love and support have been sent to me over the past year,” he adds. “I don’t know what to say, other than thank you so very much. It honestly means the world to me.”

And how did he mark the anniversary of his surgery? By enjoying a pizza — “because I can,” he remarked. “I can’t wait to see what might be next on the menu. Bring on 2024.”

Farnham is one of Australia’s most successful — and most recognizable — recording artists, with hits across five decades.

The greatest of them all is “You’re the Voice,” which led the Australian chart (then the Kent Music Report) and peaked at No. 6 on the Official U.K. Chart. “You’re The Voice” and Men At Work’s “Down Under” are regarded in these parts as the “unofficial” national anthems.

The hit single appeared on 1986’s Whispering Jack, the first record to sell over a million copies in Australia. To this day, Whispering Jack is recognized as the highest-selling Australian album in ARIA history, with more than 1.6 million copies shifted.

Farnham has been saluted with multiple awards and honors, including the 1987 Australian of the Year, he was made Officer of the Order of Australia in 1996, he’s collected 21 ARIA Awards — the most by a solo artist — and inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2003.

When Farnham was admitted to hospital earlier this year to combat a chest infection, fans feared the worst. But the singer, as he has done throughout his recording career, made a strong comeback.

In May of this year, he was the subject of a feature-length documentary, John Farnham: Finding The Voice, released through Sony Pictures, with a companion soundtrack through Wheatley Records / Sony Music Australia. The doc went on to become Australia’s highest-grossing feature-length music documentary of all time, and the LP debuted at No. 2 on the ARIA Chart, for his 20th top 10 appearance.

23 Aug 2023

Republican Debate Begins With Question About Oliver Anthony’s Hot 100 No. 1: ‘Why Is This Song Striking Such a Nerve?’

At the first Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday night (Aug. 23), the first question posed to eight hopeful candidates for commander in chief was about the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100.

“As we sit here tonight, the No. 1 song on the Billboard chart is ‘Rich Men North of Richmond,’” Fox News host Martha MacCallum said as the crowd at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum erupted in cheers. “It’s by a singer from Farmville, Virginia, named Oliver Anthony. His lyrics speak of alienation, of deep frustration with the state of government and of this country. Washington, D.C., is about 100 miles north of Richmond.”

A 30-second clip of Anthony’s viral hit — which debuts atop the Hot 100 this week, despite the artist never having any previous Billboard chart history — played next, including the unedited line “‘Cause your dollar ain’t sh– and it’s taxed to no end/ ‘Cause of rich men north of Richmond.”

MacCallum posed the first question to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, asking: “Why is this song striking such a nerve in this country right now? What do you think it means?”

DeSantis — who’s been referencing Anthony’s song in recent campaign speeches — responded by saying voters “need to send Joe Biden back to his basement and reverse American decline” and that “we cannot succeed as a country if you are working hard and you can’t afford groceries, a car or a new home while Hunter Biden can make hundreds of thousands of dollars on lousy paintings.” He directly addressed the song while taking aim at government spending too, saying: “We also cannot succeed when the Congress spends trillions and trillions of dollars. Those rich men north of Richmond have put us in this situation.”

The song, billed to Oliver Anthony Music, has especially struck a chord with a conservative audience, with right-wing pundits immediately embracing its lyrical take-down of the rich and powerful, so it makes sense that Fox News would harness its popularity at the first Republican debate leading up to the 2024 presidential election.

In addition to DeSantis, the night’s debate stage included former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Watch the moment here:

23 Aug 2023

Usher, Summer Walker & 21 Savage “Good Good,” Boosie Badazz “Meet Again” & More | Daily Visuals 8.23.23

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Lil Boosie on set

Source: (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage) / (Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage)

After properly trolling Keke Palmer’s baby daddy with his last music video in “Boyfriend,” It’s only right that Usher keep the hits coming as his name continues to buzz on social media and this time along he’s brought some other famous friends to help him keep your body grooving.

Linking up with Summer Walker and 21 Savage for his latest clip to “Good Good,” Usher Raymond and company take to the streets of The A to represent their hometown while Usher gets his 90’s attire on and busts out some gold fronts that haven’t been seen on an R&B singer since, well, we can’t even remember. We lowkey loving it though.

Keeping the scene in the South, Boosie Badazz pays homage to his fallen homies in his clip to “Meet Again” where the controversial rapper sits on a beach cruiser in a room lit by candles and pours out his heart and sheds some tattoo tears.

Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Lil Tjay, Icewear Vezzo, and more.

USHER, SUMMER WALKER & 21 SAVAGE – “GOOD GOOD”



BOOSIE BADAZZ – “MEET AGAIN”



LIL TJAY – “NOBODY”



ICEWEAR VEZZO – “CREAM SODA”



JAMIE RAY FT. BOOSIE BADAZZ – “PROBLEM SOLVER”



ASIAN DOLL – “FOREVER TOGETHER”



LARRY JUNE & CARDO – “THE GOOD KIND”



$TEEZY – “LONG WAY FROM HOME”



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23 Aug 2023

No, Morgan Wade Is Not Dating Kyle Richards

Morgan Wade recently opened up about her friendship — emphasis on friendship — with Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards, and put the ongoing dating rumors to rest.

The country star revealed to People that she had never heard of Richards before the reality TV star posted one of her songs to her Instagram Story in 2021. “The only reality television I watched was 90 Day Fiancé and I had to stop watching because it put me in such a bad mood because I get so irritated at these people,” she told the publication. “But I had never watched the Real Housewives at all.”

She noted that her friends tipped her off the Richards’ post, so Wade sent her a message to thank her, ultimately leading to an unlikely friendship. As for the dating rumors that sparked amid Richards’ separation from husband Mauricio Umansky? “We’re friends,” Wade said. “The Internet’s a dumb place.”

Richards has also been supportive of Wade as she prepares to undergo a double mastectomy as a preventative measure in November, after she had been diagnosed with a mutation in the RAD51D gene. The topi hits close to home for Richards, whose mom died of breast cancer in 2002. “She helped me connect with some really good surgeons,” Wade said. “We were talking about that and then she had the idea of us doing a documentary and following all this stuff, so we’ve been out and about. She’s just really been there for me with all that.”

“It’s just been such a great friendship,” she continued. “I know that if Kyle vouches for you, you’re a good person.”