CISAC, Global Royalty Society, Launches ‘Ukraine Solidarity Fund’ — But Stops Short of Suspending Russia

Billie Eilish, Radiohead and The Weeknd will all participate in a social media rally next weekend in a bid to urge governments and institutions to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine and beyond.The ‘Stand Up For Ukraine’ rally has been organised by Global Citizen and is due to take place on April 8.It comes ahead of a pledging summit organised by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Commission President Ursula von Der Leyen which will be held the following day (April 9).As Global Citizen outlined in a recent article, the upcoming event “aims to mobilise significant funding to help vulnerable civilians impacted by the conflict and to support refugees everywhere”.Funds will also be directed to aiding those in other conflict zones, including Yemen, South Sudan and Afghanistan.“On April 8, the biggest online event Social Media Rally will support people who were forced to flee Ukraine,” Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement.“I’m inviting everybody: musicians, actors, athletes, businessmen, politicians, everybody.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBlue Note New York has announced the 11th Annual Sony Presents Blue Note Jazz Festival. The festival kicks off on June 1 with a free show in Washington Square Park headlined by Robert Glasper — who performed on the Oscars Sunday night — in association with Washington Square Park Conservancy.Taking place at major venues across New York City, including Blue Note New York, Sony Hall, The Town Hall, and SummerStage in Central Park, this year’s festival features performances from George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic, Chris Botti, Charles Lloyd, Macy Gray, Kenny G, Al Di Meola, Madeleine Peyroux, Dave Holland & Kenny Barron, Robert Cray, Kenny Garrett, José James, Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott), Bilal, DOMi & JD Beck, Dizzy Gillespie Big Band, Theo Croker and so many more legends, with a major headliner announcement on April 26.

LIVE – Updated at 00:50This year’s Oscars featured shocks, sighs and surprises – but all anyone will care about is a slap. The Academy Awards took place on Sunday night, with films including The Power of the Dog, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza and Coda battling it out in the big categories. The biggest story of the night had almost nothing to do with the awards: a shocking altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock sparked by a joke about Smith’s wife Jada.

It appears actions might, in fact, have consequences.

Chris Willman Music WriterGlobal Citizen has unveiled a list of entertainers and luminaries that includes more than 40 major music artists that will take part in an April campaign to urge governments to up their contributions toward supporting humanitarian efforts for Ukraine.Among those taking part in “Stand Up for Ukraine,” which is being described as a “social media rally,” will be Madonna, U2, Billie Eilish, the Weeknd, Radiohead, Luke Combs, Jon Batiste, Juanes, Garth Brooks, Billy Joel and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.The social media campaign will take place April 8-9, in advance of a “pledging summit” set to take place that second day, being spearheaded by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Other musicians getting involved with the push include Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Celine Dion, Leon Bridges, Stevie Wonder, Green Day, Finneas, Stevie Nicks, Tame Impala, the Jonas Brothers, Usher, Elton John with David Furnish, Trisha Yearwood, Demi Lovato, Chris Isaak, Angélique Kidjo, Annie Lennox, Alejandro Sanz, Ryan Tedder, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam and Pharrell Williams.

Naman Ramachandran Vice Distribution has struck a content partnership deal with French media group M6 to bring over 100 hours of premium Vice content to the TV network’s AVOD platform, 6play.The lineup of Vice shows set to roll on 6play comprises the fourth season of the hit psycho-analytical documentary franchise “Thérapie,” the acclaimed documentary “Real par Soul Sisters” and the street food series “Au Camion.” Some Vice franchises are also part of the deal, notably “Dark Side of the 90s,” “Rise Up” and “The Story Of,” as well as award-winning content such as “Gaycation,” “The Trixie” and “Katya Show” and “What Would Diplo Do?”“Vice produces and distributes premium content that resonates with young audiences around the world,” said Bea Hegedus, Vice global head of distribution. Vice Distribution launched in 2020 with a catalogue of over 1,000 of programming.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSpotify, which suspended its paid subscription service in Russia earlier this month due to that country’s unprovoked and bloody invasion of Ukraine, has announced it will “fully suspend our service in Russia,” apparently indefinitely. It joins dozens of other music companies that have ceased operations in the country.“Spotify has continued to believe that it’s critically important to try to keep our service operational in Russia to provide trusted, independent news and information in the region.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhen Sting first released the song “Russians” in 1985, the Cold War had been raging for nearly 40 years, and the song aimed to strike a humanizing tone on the people actually behind that Iron Curtain. Just weeks earlier, the Soviet Union had gotten a young new leader named Mikhail Gorbachev who ultimately would end that war and change the world in the process, for the better, it seemed at the time.Sadly, four decades later, Russia has launched the most devastating ground war in Europe since World War II with its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and it’s necessary to strike a humanizing tone again, and Sting has released a re-recorded version of the song to benefit www.helpukraine.center — a volunteer storage center established by Ukrainian business owners where humanitarian and medical aid can be sent from all over the world – with funds being processed through the German charity foundation, Ernst Prost, People for Peace – Peace for People.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe global recorded music market grew by 18.5% in 2021, driven by growth in paid subscription streaming, according to IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry), the organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide. Figures released Tuesday in IFPI’s Global Music Report show total revenues for 2021 were $25.9 billion.While the free version of the report does not attach numbers to all of the rankings, they’re pretty fascinating anyway:The top 10 global artists, based on “consumption across all formats and all countries, weighted based on the value of each method of consumption,” are:The top 10 global digital singles were: The top 10 all-format albums were:And, for good measure, the top-selling vinyl titles across the world were:Digging into the data, the report notes that paid subscription streaming revenues increased by 21.9% to $12.3 billion, with 523 million users of paid subscription accounts at the end of 2021.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn Thursday morning, Dolly Parton ventured into the belly of Fox News’ hotbed of propaganda and misinformation, “Fox & Friends,” in an attempt to set the record straight about her decision to decline her likely nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.“Well, I didn’t feel exactly right about that,” she said, while being interviewed on the show along with James Patterson, who co-authored her new book “Run, Rose Run.” “Because my perception, and I think the perception of most of America — I just feel like that’s more for the people in rock music. I’ve been educated since then, saying that it’s more than that, but I still didn’t feel right about it.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOne might think that, just weeks after his company scraped through the biggest crisis of its existence — its stubborn defense of giving a gigantic international platform, not to mention more than $200 million, to Joe Rogan and his destructive, malignant opinions — Spotify’s Daniel Ek might exercise a little caution and humility.One might think that, after paying millions to Capitol Hill lobbyists in an ongoing battle to pay less to songwriters — the very foundation of his company’s existence — than the Copyright Royalty Board decreed it should pay, he wouldn’t spend even more millions on something as flashy and business-uncritical as sponsorship of a soccer team, especially with Russian bombs killing hundreds of Ukrainian civilians every day. But one would be wrong.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine continues and more music companies have ceased doing business with the country, many in the songwriting, music-publishing and especially the performing-rights communities have looked to CISAC, the global confederation of authors societies such as ASCAP and PRS, to make a unilateral decision.However, on Monday, the organization announced that although it “deplores and condemns the war waged by the Russian government against the Ukrainian population,” it will leave such decisions to individual societies, although it continues to develop a relief fund for Ukraine, first announced on Wednesday.“While abhorring the actions of the Russian armed forces, CISAC is not empowered to impose sanctions on member societies based only on the actions of their government,” the statement says in part. “Russian authors, just as their counterparts elsewhere, cannot be blamed for the grotesque actions of their government.” “CISAC’s global network of authors societies deplores and condemns the war waged by the Russian government against the Ukrainian population,” the statement reads.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Rolling Stones have announced dates for their 60th anniversary tour, their second jaunt since the death of founding drummer Charlie Watts last August. The European summer tour will take in fourteen shows in ten countries across the contintent and will present the premiere of “a brand new ‘Sixty’ production,” starting in Madrid on June 1.The announcement notes that the group will be playing its first concert in Liverpool in more than 50 years, followed by two shows in London’s Hyde Park.

the SAG awards, celebrities including Tyler Perry, Michael Douglas and Shari Belafonte wore ribbons or pocket squares in yellow and blue, while actor Greta Lee wore a blue skirt and yellow polo neck. With the Baftas taking place in London this Sunday, this trend is likely to grow. At Balenciaga’s fashion show last week, each seat had a Ukrainian flag, and the show ended with a model wearing a full yellow outfit, followed by one wearing all blue.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn what is rapidly becoming a mass music exodus out of Russia, Kobalt became the third major company to announce on Thursday that it is suspending business activity in Russia due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Of the three global major labels, Sony and Warner announced their pullout within an hour of each other on Thursday morning, and Universal made the move on Tuesday.Kobalt’s move is doubly significant because although it is a global company, Kobalt was founded in London by Swedish-born Willard Ahdritz and in many ways is a European company.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music has suspended all of its operations in Russia, the company has confirmed to Variety. “Sony Music Group calls for peace in Ukraine and an end to the violence. We have suspended operations in Russia and will continue our support of global humanitarian relief efforts to aid victims in need.,” the company said in a statement.Sources tells Variety that the company’s staffers will continue to receive their salaries for an undetermined time; the artists’ situation is still being worked out.Universal Music Group announced that it is suspending its operations in the country on Tuesday.

defending Ukraine, amid the conflict caused by Russia’s invasion in the Easter European country.The 32-year-old actress, who shares a 7-year-old daughter from her previous relationship with Ukrainian former professional boxer Wladimir Kitschko, announced she would help raise donations for medical supplies and protective gear.Hayden posted a video on YouTube sharing her thoughts about the tragic conflict and talked about her organization Hoplon International, “There are no words to describe what it’s been like to watch the war in Ukraine unfold.”She continued, “It’s gut-wrenching knowing that the people of Ukraine, the people I call my friends and family are desperately trying to defend their way of life in the country that they love.”The Hollywood star says she “created Hoplon International to bring relief and aid directly to Ukrainians on the frontlines,” declaring that she “can’t continue sitting on the sidelines as this disaster rages on.”Hayden urged everyone to donate and explained that the organization will ensure direct aid to the people affected, “Please, please don’t sit by idly. Help me by donating any amount that you can.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs more and more companies have cut ties with Russia in the wake of the country’s invasion of Ukraine, many have wondered why more music companies have not done the same.Early Tuesday, the U.K.’s performing rights organization, PRS for Music, said it has formally and immediately suspended its rights representation relationship with RAO, the Russian collecting society for musical works, “pending confirmation of its separation from the Russian Government and those individuals and companies on the sanctions lists.“We are also working with CISAC to consider the ongoing membership of Russian societies in the global network. It is not our desire to punish the Russian composer, songwriter and publisher communities who support peace, and we will work with the global community to identify opportunities to amplify the voices of protest.