Drake to Collaborate With ESPN on Monday Night Football Music

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTicketing platform Dice has raised up to to $122 million in Series C funding in a round was led by new investor, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with follow on investments from Tony Fadell’s Future Shape, Blisce, French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, Mirabaud Private Equity, Cassius and Evolution.“We believe DICE’s technology has the capacity to transform the future of live entertainment,” said Yanni Pipilis, Managing Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRoblox and the National Music Publishers’ Association today announced an agreement that “settles any previous claims against Roblox and sets the foundation for future partnerships with global publishers that will unlock new creative and commercial opportunities on its platform,” according to the announcement.In June, a group of music publishers sued Roblox through the NMPA for $200 million-plus, claiming copyright infringement by the company.The agreement settles

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAtlanta rapper 21 Savage, the British born-artist who was arrested by ICE in 2019 for overstaying his visa, turned himself in to authorities on Thursday night on drug and weapons possession charges stemming from his earlier arrest. He was released on bond, his attorney confirmed to Variety.Savage (real name: She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) was taken into custody by ICE during Grammy Week in February of 2019, which amplified awareness of his immigration status.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJulz Sale, co-founder and singer of Delta 5, whose 1980 indie hit “Mind Your Own Business” saw an unexpected revival when it was used in an Apple ad earlier this year, has died, Variety has confirmed via the band’s U.S. label.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn Thursday, just 15 months after it was formed, the Black Music Action Coalition will host its inaugural Music in Action Awards gala in Los Angeles, honoring musicians, executives, businesses, entrepreneurs, and activists who have made significant contributions to social justice, change, and/or equity over the preceding year.BMAC, which was formed after the transformative yet all-too-familiar events leading up to the Black Lives Matter protests last spring, will

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Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn a day that has been remarkably good for music companies on stock markets, Warner Music Group — which saw its stock climb thanks in part to Universal Music’s lofty IPO — on Tuesday announced the sale of an aggregate of 2,340,000 shares of the company’s common stock by affiliates of Access Industries to Morgan Stanley & Co. as the sole underwriter in the registered public offering of those shares.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter months of strong words, the National Music Publishers’ Association and livestreaming platform Twitch have announced an agreement to work together “to build productive partnerships between the service and music publishers,” according to the announcement.The deal follows months of animosity toward the Amazon-owned streaming platform, from the NMPA along with other industry trade groups, including the RIAA and the Recording Academy, over what they deemed its

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBjorn Ulvaeus, co-founder of ABBA and president of CISAC, unveiled a new global initiative called “Credits Due” on Tuesday that is intended to upgrade the music industry’s payment processes.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHipgnosis Songs, founded by Merck Mercuriadis and launched on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, is one of the most disruptive upstarts in recent music industry history, spending more than $2 billion acquiring catalogs of hitmakers ranging from the Chainsmokers to half of Neil Young’s work, with a foundation in lesser-known but high-earning songwriters and producers such as Kanye West/Harry Styles collaborator Jeff Bhasker and Eurythmics cofounder Dave

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorReggaeton star, actor and philanthropist Don Omar has signed a multiyear partnership with Saban Music Group (SMG). The label founded by entertainment giant Haim Saban and headed by CEO Gustavo López is home to such acts as Static and Ben El, Nakkia Gold and Chesca, among others.“I am thrilled to be joining forces with Saban Music Group and being backed by the savvy business and artistic instincts of Haim and Gus,” said Omar.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDrake’s “Certified Lover Boy” topped the Rolling Stone albums chart for a second week, holding the No. 1 spot with more than 232,000 project units, according to Alpha Data.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFighting the gender gap in the music industry is not a role that Mattel’s Barbie doll traditionally has taken on, but the company has used the iconic figure for exactly that purpose with its awesome Music-Producer doll, which it announced earlier this week.The company, which partnered with veteran songwriter-producer Ester Dean for the series, is making empowerment the primary theme for the doll too, saying it is “designed to introduce girls to an underrepresented

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe estate of David Bowie and Warner Music Group have announced a global partnership that will bring the late artist’s vast recorded-music catalog from 1968 through 2016 under the Warner umbrella.The new deal sees Bowie’s albums from 2000 through 2016, which were originally released via Sony Music, joining his 1968-1999 catalog at Warner.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records today formally launched Imperial Music, a new independent music company led by former Astralwerks executive Glenn Mendlinger that soft-launched last year.According to the announcement, the New York-based label is a new division of Republic and signs, develops and markets emerging independent artists and creators, and partners with Ingrooves Music Group for distribution services.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRecorded music revenues in the U.S. grew 27% in the first half of 2021 over 2020, according to the RIAA’s mid-year report.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLive Nation has resumed its acquisition of a 51% controlling interest in Ocesa Entretenimiento, a leading promoter in Latin America and owner of Ticketmaster Mexico, for an aggregate purchase price of $8,835,000,000 in Mexican dollars, or approximately $444 million U.S.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSince the advent of streaming services, one of the major problems with DJ mixes has been ensuring that every musical element in those mixes is identified and paid for.Well, Apple Music has unveiled a new process — in cooperation with major and independent labels — whereby it can properly identify and directly pay the rights holders whose music is used within a DJ mix, building on technology from Shazam, which it acquired several years ago.The program ostensibly will

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorKevin Lee, better known as Coach K, is cofounder of Quality Control, the multifaceted Atlanta-based label and music-and-sports management company that has brought the world Migos, Lil Baby, Lil Yachty, City Girls and more, and also manages many athletes.In just eight years, Coach and cofounder Pierre “P” Thomas have built an empire that is not only one of the biggest independent companies in hip-hop, it’s also a strong force in the sports world as well.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMusic and technology conference Mondo.NYC have announced that the keynote speakers for its Music & Tech Law Symposium will be the newly-appointed Recording Academy Co-Presidents Valeisha Butterfield Jones and Panos A.