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21 Mar 2023

Nettwerk Brings on New Investor Flexpoint Ford for Catalog Acquisitions, Artist Investments

The Nettwerk Music Group has recapitalized, bringing in a new investor in the form of Flexpoint Asset Opportunity Fund II and additional funding from existing investors Beedie Capital and Vistara Growth. Flexpoint Asset Opportunity Fund II is a buyout fund managed by Flexpoint Ford, a private equity firm with approximately $7.8 billion of assets under management. Terms of the funding weren’t disclosed.

“The capital from Flexpoint will enable Nettwerk to invest in artists and make music catalogue acquisitions that will benefit from the fast-growing independent sector of the music industry,” Nettwerk CEO and co-founder Terry McBride said in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with Flexpoint as we continue to execute on our vision of connecting artists with their fans globally.”

Nettwerk describes itself as a full-service artist development and music intellectual property brand builder with a history spanning nearly 40 years. Its current roster includes Passenger, Syml, Banners, the Album Leaf, Matt Maltese, Wild Rivers and Wrabel among many others.

“Nettwerk has been at the forefront of the evolution in the independent music sector building a compelling catalogue of music by offering white-glove services and growth opportunities to independent artists traditionally reserved for superstars,” Flexpoint managing director Mike Morris said in a statement. “We believe Terry and the team are well positioned to prosper in the rapidly evolving music industry and are excited to help the team execute their vision.”

Beedie Capital managing director David Bell added, “The team at Nettwerk are differentiated leaders in a complex industry, and we are excited to support them through continued execution of their unique, artist-centric strategy.”

Artisan served as buyside financial advisor and Latham & Watkins and Bennett Jones served as legal counsel to Flexpoint. Cooley and Morgan Daniels Slager served as legal counsel to Nettwerk.

21 Mar 2023

BTS’ RM, Suga, V & Jung Kook Share a Moment With Harry Styles Backstage at Seoul Love on Tour Stop

The Love on Tour lovefest continues!

After Harry Styles performed a star-studded concert in Seoul, South Korea, BTS members RM, Suga, V and Jung Kook caught up with the pop star backstage and shared snaps from their meeting on Monday.

RM and V posted the crossover moment to their respective Instagram Stories. Both pictures sees the BTS idols with their arms around Styles or crouching down, holding up a peace sign and double K-pop finger hearts. RM shared the photo to his Story with a pink heart, while V opted for several disco emojis.

Styles’ Love on Tour stop in Seoul honored BTS by playing the group’s 2020 smash hit — which also served as the group’s first single to debut at No. 1 the Billboard Hot 100 — in the concert’s pre-show playlist.

As for the actual concert, Taekook — Taehyung (V) and Jung Kook — began trending on Twitter shortly after appearing in the audience energetically dancing as Styles performed One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful.” (RM and Suga were also spotted in the audience, but sat in separate locations from V and Jung Kook.)

See RM and V’s photos here and here on Instagram before they disappear.

21 Mar 2023

Post Malone Avoids Trial Over ‘Circles’ With Settlement – Plus Bad Bunny, Cardi B & More

This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.

This week: Post Malone reaches a last-minute settlement to avoid trial in a closely-watched copyright case over his smash hit “Circles”; Bad Bunny faces a lawsuit from an ex-girlfriend over his alleged use of a recording of her voice in songs; a federal appeals court upholds Cardi B’s defamation verdict against a gossip blogger; and much more.

THE BIG STORY: The Big Post Malone Trial … That Didn’t Happen

This morning, I was ready to tell you all about The Next Big Music Trial.

Set to run all this week, it was going to pit Post Malone against Tyler Armes, a musician who claims that he co-wrote the superstar’s chart-topping song “Circles” but was unfairly cut out of the credits. Billboard had reporters at the courthouse, and the case had it all: dramatic text message exchanges; a fateful all-night studio session; thorny questions about who owns what when a song gets written; and much more.

But now, there’s one big thing the case won’t have: a trial.

Minutes before the proceedings were set to start in Los Angeles federal court Tuesday (March 21), a settlement was reached. The judge jokingly waved goodbye to media members gathered to cover the case, and staffers could later be seen wheeling out musical equipment that was set to be utilized during the trial. What a letdown.

The specific terms of the settlement aren’t yet known, and neither side is commenting; we’ll keep an eye out to see if any credits for “Circles” are changed in the coming months. And I’ll let you know about the Next Big Music Trial — for real this time.

To get the full story, go read our full deep-dive breakdown of the case against Malone and our breaking news story about today’s big settlement.

Other top stories this week…

BAD BUNNY FACES VOICE LAWSUIT – Bad Bunny was sued by an ex-girlfriend who says he violated the law by using a recording of her uttering a now-famous catchphrase — “Bad Bunny Baby” — in two of his songs without her consent.

CARDI B’S LIBEL VERDICT AFFIRMED – A federal appeals court upheld Cardi B’s $4 million defamation verdict against Tasha K, a gossip blogger who made salacious false claims about the rapper on YouTube and social media concerning drug use, STDs and prostitution.

CHER v. MARY BONO MOVES AHEAD – More than a year after Cher sued Sonny Bono’s widow, Mary Bono, over a messy mix of royalties, termination rights and divorce law, a federal judge issued an initial ruling refusing to dismiss the case.

XXXTENTACION KILLERS CONVICTED – Three men were found guilty of the 2018 killing of star rapper XXXTentacion, who was shot outside a South Florida motorcycle shop while being robbed of $50,000; all three now face mandatory life sentences. The convictions came after a jury trial that was sometimes overshadowed by defense attorneys’ unsuccessful efforts to pull Drake into the proceedings over his alleged beef with the late rapper.

“THEY DO NOT SOUND ALIKE” – Nickelback beat a copyright lawsuit claiming the band ripped off its 2006 hit “Rockstar” from an earlier song called “Rock Star.” A judge ruled there was zero evidence that the band’s frontman, Chad Kroeger, ever heard the earlier song, adding that the two tracks simply “do not sound alike.”

THE WEEKND SETTLES COPYRIGHT FIGHT – Suniel Fox and Henry Strange, two musicians who sued The Weeknd for allegedly stealing key elements of his 2018 track “Call Out My Name,” reached a settlement with the superstar to end the lawsuit.

YOU KNOW YOU MAKE ME WANNA SUE – The Isley Brothers member Rudolph Isley filed a lawsuit against his brother Ronald Isley, accusing him of improperly attempting to secure a federal trademark registration on the “The Isley Brothers” — even though the name is supposed to be jointly owned.

COPYRIGHTS FOR AI SONGS? – Amid growing interest in the role that could be played in the music industry by “generative AI” tools similar to ChatGPT, a new report from the Copyright Office aimed to offer clarity on when such works can be protected by copyrights — and hinted that a more sweeping study might be in the works.

JAMES DOLAN v. EVERYBODY – Madison Square Garden filed a lawsuit challenging efforts by New York state regulators to revoke the company’s liquor licenses over its use of facial recognition technology, marking the latest defiant act by MSG chairman James Dolan in his increasingly sprawling battle to ban plaintiffs lawyers from his venues.

21 Mar 2023

Miley Cyrus Spreads the ‘Love’ After ‘Flowers’ Spends 7th Week at No. 1

Miley Cyrus took to social media on Tuesday (March 21) to celebrate “Flowers” returning to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 for a seventh week.

“Flowers is #1 for a 7th week! I love all of you. Endless Summer Vacation out now!” the singer wrote on Twitter, also sharing a candid shot of herself wearing an asymmetrical dress of black sequins, a long green fur coat, and her must-have accessory of the album cycle: a pair of black sunglasses. She also shared this week’s Hot 100 top 10 (chart dated March 25) and Billboard‘s own story about her 10th career week at No. 1 on her Instagram Stories.

The hit single’s return to the pinnacle of the Hot 100 was helped by the release of Endless Summer Vacation, which posted Cyrus’ best opening week on the Billboard 200 in more than a decade with 103,000 equivalent album units. The studio set lands at No. 3 on the chart behind Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time — last week’s holdover at No. 1 — and TWICE’s READY TO BE.

In more global accomplishments, “Flowers” is also spending an eighth week at the top of both Billboard Global charts, and Cyrus also nabbed a rare chart double over in the U.K. with the smash single and its parent album simultaneously sitting at No. 1 on the Official Singles chart and Official Albums chart.

Check out Cyrus’ tweet about her song’s latest chart-topping accomplishment below.

21 Mar 2023

Anne Hathaway & Michaela Coel to Star in ‘Mother Mary’ Film, With Music by This Dynamic Pop Duo

Anne Hathaway is going to give the pop-star life a try. On Tuesday (March 21), The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the Devil Wears Prada actress will appear in A24’s forthcoming film Mother Mary, alongside Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Michaela Coel.

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The script is written by David Lowery, who will also direct for A24, the studio that produced Everything Everywhere All at Once, which took home seven Oscars earlier this month.

The studio describes Mother Mary as an “epic pop melodrama following a fictional musician (Hathaway) and her relationship with an iconic fashion designer (Coel).” 

A movie about a musician requires a soundtrack with heavy-hitter songwriters. Mother Mary will have no shortage, as frequent Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey collaborator Jack Antonoff — who produced a “melodrama” of his own with Lorde’s 2017 sophomore LP — will write and produce original songs for the film. Charli XCX will also have a songwriting and production role for Mother Mary, while the film’s score will be composed by Daniel Hart (Light of My Life, The Green Knight, Peter Pan & Wendy).

After the news came out, Charli shared a funny photo of her alongside Antonoff to Instagram with the caption, “jack bout to get mothered.” She later added in the comments section that she “hate[s] myself for this pic but it had to be done.”

Lowery is producing the film alongside Toby Halbrooks, James M. Johnston and Jeanie Igoe of Homebird Productions. Jonas Katzenstein, Maximilian Leo and Jonathan Saubach of Cologne-based augenschein Filmproduktion also have production credits.

21 Mar 2023

HHW Gaming: ‘Dune’ & ‘Doctor Strange’ Writer Jon Spaihts Joins Netflix’s ‘Gears of War’ Adaptation

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Source: MARK RALSTON / Getty / Gears of War

We are one step closer to that long-awaited television adaption of Gears of War.

Variety exclusively reports that Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Jon Spaihts has boarded Netflix’s forthcoming adaptation of the popular Xbox video game, Gears of War.

Spaihts has co-written 2021’s Dune, the upcoming Dune sequel, and Doctor Strange and hopes to deliver another great television adaptation of a video game franchise.

“Gears of War’ is one of the all-time great action games, with vivid characters, a beautifully designed world, and a combat system that drives home the lethality of war and the importance of standing by your squadmates. It wants to be cinema, and I’m thrilled to have the chance to help that happen,” Spaihts told Variety in a statement.

The Netflix film is just one part of the GOW universe it hopes to build after landing a deal with Gears of War developer, The Coalition in November 2022. If all goes as planned, the feature film will come first, with an adult animated series behind it and then potentially spinoff series.

The game centers around human civilization as they fight to survive against a subterranean threat called The Locust Horde. The human race’s last hope lies with a disgraced sergeant, Marcus Fenix, who leads Delta Squad, a ragtag group of soldiers.



“We’re thrilled to partner with Jon and the Netflix team to bring ‘Gears of War’ to life,” The Coalition said. “Jon is a master storyteller with a talent for creating epic, science-fiction universes, and he truly loves ‘Gears of War.’ We couldn’t ask for a better partner to honor our franchise and deliver an authentic story to our fans.”

Does This Mean Dave Bautista Is Joining The Project?

This is the most significant development in adapting Gears of War into a film. Before Netflix got on board, New Line Cinema acquired the rights to turn GOW into a film in 2007, before Scott Stuber, now head of original films at Netflix, joined Epic Games as a producer in 2013.

Universal hired  F. Scott Frazier to pen an adaption in 2018, but nothing ever came of that.

As far as casting, one name has come up for years, and it’s none other than Dave Bautista, who fans have chosen from the jump to play Marcus Fenix because of the uncanny resemblance.

The former WWE superstar turned actor has even lobbied for the role, and it also helps The Coalition’s release of DLC using Bautista’s likeness in the game.

With Spaihts onboard, it makes all the sense for Bautista to land the role since they worked together on both Dune and Dune: Part Two.

So, with that said, make it happen. Give Bautista the role. Looking at you, Netflix.

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Photo: MARK RALSTON / Getty

21 Mar 2023

Is Selena Gomez Getting Married on ‘Only Murders’? See Her New Wedding Dress Photos

Looks like we’re going to be hearing wedding bells on the next season of Only Murders in the Building.

Steve Martin teased some on-set photos via Twitter on Tuesday (March 21), in which he’s seen in a tuxedo linking arms with his co-star Selena Gomez, who is wearing a lacy wedding gown and veil. “Guess what just happened!” he captioned the post, without revealing who Gomez will be walking down the aisle to.

The comedian followed up with another photo of the “Lose You to Love Me” singer smiling with co-star Martin Short, who is also dressed in black-tie attire. “Turns out this happened, too,” Martin wrote.

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Gomez also shared some snaps of her bridal moment to Instagram, in which she’s seen sitting on the floor with the tulle of her wedding dress surrounding her, smiling while holding a can of Coke. “I have no caption. Just a regular day at work,” she captioned the post, tagging the Only Murders official Instagram account.

Only Murders in the Building season two, starring the hilarious trio as true-crime loving neighbors who get wrapped up in a murder mystery, dropped on Hulu back in June. Since then, Gomez, Martin and Short have been teasing season three of the popular show throughout the past few weeks of filming — including much-anticipated cameos from Jesse Williams and Emily in Paris star Ashley Park.

Only Murders in the Building season three does not yet have a release date. In the meantime, watch the first two seasons on Hulu here. 

21 Mar 2023

TikTok Goes On Counteroffensive Ahead of CEO’s Congressional Testimony, Updates Deepfakes Rules

TikTok went on a counteroffensive Tuesday amid increasing Western pressure over cybersecurity and misinformation concerns, rolling out updated rules and standards for content as its CEO warned against a possible U.S. ban on the Chinese-owned video sharing app.

CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to appear Thursday before U.S. congressional lawmakers, who will grill him about the company’s privacy and data-security practices and relationship with the Chinese government.

Chew said in a TikTok video that the hearing “comes at a pivotal moment” for the company, after lawmakers introduced measures that would expand the Biden administration’s authority to enact a U.S. ban on the app, which the CEO said more than 150 million Americans use.

“Some politicians have started talking about banning TikTok. Now this could take TikTok away from all 150 million of you,” said Chew, who was dressed casually in jeans and blue hoodie, with the dome of the U.S. Capitol in Washington in the background.

“I’ll be testifying before Congress this week to share all that we’re are doing to protect Americans using the app,” he said.

TikTok app has come under fire in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific, where a growing number of governments have banned TikTok from devices used for official business over worries it poses risks to cybersecurity and data privacy or could be used to push pro-Beijing narratives and misinformation.

So far, there is no evidence to suggest this has happened or that TikTok has turned over user data to the Chinese government, as some of its critics have argued it would do.

Norway and the Netherlands on Tuesday warned apps like TikTok should not be installed on phones issued to government employees, both citing security or intelligence agencies.

There’s a “high risk” if TikTok or Telegram are installed on devices that have access to “internal digital infrastructure or services,” Norway’s justice ministry said, without providing further details.

TikTok also rolled out updated rules and standards for content and users in a reorganized set of community guidelines that include eight principles to guide content moderation decisions.

“These principles are based on our commitment to uphold human rights and aligned with international legal frameworks,” said Julie de Bailliencourt, TikTok’s global head of product policy.

She said TikTok strives to be fair, protect human dignity and balance freedom of expression with preventing harm.

The guidelines, which take effect April 21, were repackaged from TikTok’s existing rules with extra details and explanations.

Among the more significant changes are additional details about its restrictions on deepfakes, also known as synthetic media created by artificial intelligence technology. TikTok more clearly spells out its policy, saying all deepfakes or manipulated content that show realistic scenes must be labeled to indicate they’re fake or altered in some way.

TikTok had previously banned deepfakes that mislead viewers about real-world events and cause harm. Its updated guidelines say deepfakes of private figures and young people are also not allowed.

Deepfakes of public figures are OK in certain contexts, such as for artistic or educational content, but not for political or commercial endorsements.

21 Mar 2023

3 Black Prosecutors Are Leading The Charge Against Donald Trump

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GOP Presidential Nominee Donald Trump Campaigns In Battleground State Of Florida

Source: Joe Raedle / Getty

As former president Donald Trump is facing the strong possibility of being indicted, three Black prosecutors are notably at the forefront of the fight to hold him accountable for his misdeeds.

On Saturday morning (March 18), Trump declared on social media that he would be indicted as early as Tuesday (March 20), referring to the grand jury being convened in New York investigating his hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels as a violation of election law. His words placed a huge spotlight on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is overseeing the case. Bragg is one of three Black lawmakers, recently spotlighted by Capital B News, who stand out for their efforts to have the former president answer for a slew of alleged crimes.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has been steadfast in filing cases through her office against the policies of Trump’s administration. Her office filed a $250 million civil fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization last September. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office have also dominated national coverage as they are weighing an indictment against Trump and his cronies for attempting to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in Georgia during the 2020 election. Her meticulous investigation has led observers to speculate that a decision is expected within the next few weeks, and a grand jury has already recommended multiple indictments for his allies.

Each prosecutor carries a long and robust career as well as a reputation for being tough as nails. Their work has earned them the ire of Republicans on the state and federal levels. GOP legislators in Georgia introduced a bill earlier this year that would create a committee to discipline elected local prosecutors or force them out. “I’m tired, and I’m just going to call it how I see it,” Willis said of the bill, noting that the number of minority prosecutors in Georgia went from five to 14 in 2020. “I, quite frankly, think the legislation is racist. I don’t know what other thing to call it.”

Bragg has been severely criticized for his policies since taking office, which are in tune with the movement for more progressive and ethical reform of the criminal justice system. Trump has repeatedly demonized Bragg, calling for his arrest. Bragg has remained silent publicly, but in an internal memo said that his office “will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly.” And James has also been under fire for her investigations into Trump and his affairs with Eric Trump calling her “the most corrupt attorney general in New York History” and “an embarrassment to prosecutors across this country.”

 

21 Mar 2023

XXXTentacion’s Mother Is “Grateful” That Her Son’s Killers Were Found Guilty

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Variety Hitmakers Brunch, Arrivals, Los Angeles, USA - 01 Dec 2018

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Almost five years after the murder of XXXTentacion, justice has finally been served. The men behind his killing were found guilty of the crime, finally giving his grieving family closure over the matter.

TMZ is reporting that XXXTentacion’s mother, Cleopatra Bernard, was grateful that the jury returned a guilty verdict. Now, she can have some peace knowing her son’s killers will be spending a lot of time behind bars.

From TMZ:

As for whether Cleopatra anticipated this outcome, she tells us she actually did … and went into court Monday expecting all three defendants would be found guilty of murder — which, of course, they were after about 2 weeks of deliberations. She was also wearing an XXX shirt. Cleopatra says the experience has been gut-wrenching but is glad it’s all over now.One last thing from Cleopatra here — she tells us that the attempt to rope Drake into this trial from the defense side was a transparently desperate ploy just to raise doubt — and insists she and her loved ones always knew who was responsible for her son’s death.That entire Drake thing was indeed a wild Hail Mary that no one saw coming. The conspiracy theories behind the lyrics and everything was ridiculous. Still, that didn’t seem to matter as the jury felt the men were guilty as sin and had no qualms about saying as much.

That would be the 3 guys who now face serious prison time — Michael Boatwright, Trayvon Newsome, and Dedrick Williams. Their fates seemed to have been sealed when another man admitted to being involved in the murder and testified against them, laying it all on the table.

Justice might’ve been slow, but at least it was true, right?

What do y’all think of the guilty verdict? Do y’all think the whole Drake theory held any weight? Let us know in the comment section below.