Justice Department Leaves Music Industry Consent Decrees Unchanged

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDarcus Beese, president and CEO of Island Records since David Massey’s departure in 2018, will exit the company, a rep for parent company Universal Music Group has confirmed to Variety.“Darcus informed us of his decision to return to the U.K. for personal reasons and to pursue new career opportunities there,” the statement reads.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Los Angeles-based music and technology company Create Music Group has launched a beta version of Create Carbon, a credit card that it says will give music creators the ability to access their royalties as soon as they’re earned, rather waiting to receive them via regular monthly payouts.The company prides itself on showing artists how much money they’re making on a daily basis by pulling millions of different data points from sources like Spotify, Apple Music

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJason Flom’s Lava for Good Podcasts — whose “Wrongful Conviction” series brings to light the wrongful incarceration of innocent people — has joined forces with the content network and podcast listening service Stitcher for a series of new criminal justice-focused podcasts.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Entertainment announced it has entered into a definitive agreement with Kobalt Music Group to acquire Kobalt’s recorded-music operations, including AWAL, and Kobalt Neighboring Rights.AWAL and Neighbouring Rights will become a new division within SME’s suite of independent artist and label services offerings and will be enhanced by the technology and network of SME’s independent music distribution company, The Orchard, according to the announcement.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran rapper T.I. and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris have denied the most recent round of allegations from Sabrina Peterson, who previously accused the rapper of holding a gun to her head.The latest round of allegations are in a series of screenshots of DMs from several women accusing the rapper and his wife of disturbing incidents of sexual abuse and other transgressions allegedly from more than a dozen women.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Coda Collection, a new multi-media company, is launching a channel on Amazon Prime featuring rare concerts and music documentaries, exclusive premieres for films and more. The channel is combined with an editorial destination across Coda’s desktop and mobile sites, providing another perspective on the artists and music featured in the content.

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Adam Lambert has seen a lot of positive change for LGBTQ+ musicians.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe South by Southwest Music Festival has announced its initial list of showcasing artists who have been invited to perform online at the 35th annual event, taking place March 16 – 20, 2021.According to the announcement, the event “will be a unique online musical experience where industry professionals and music lovers can discover an unparalleled range of artists and styles from around the world, expanding listeners’ horizons from their own homes.”Showcases and

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a letter to President Biden on Tuesday, major live-entertainment organizations — AEG, Bandit Lites, Broadway League, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Live Nation, the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO), the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), Oak View Group (OVG), and We Make Events — formally offered their

Brexit financial support for the music industry.The government has come in for heavy criticism since the UK officially left the EU earlier this month over the Brexit deal’s lack of support for touring musicians, specifically in terms of the failure to implement visa-free travel in Europe for British musicians and their crew.While Dowden previously told NME that the EU was to blame for not permitting visa-free travel for artists, the EU subsequently hit back by denying claims that they had

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt is no overstatement to say that on an Inauguration Day filled with memorable moments, 22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman’s poetry reading was definitely one of the most lasting.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA Michigan nurse whose informal performance of “Amazing Grace” at a local hospital became an online sensation last year will sing at a memorial for those who have died from COVID-19 on Tuesday (Jan. 19), ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.Lori Marie Key, 29, of Belleville, Michigan is set to sing “Amazing Grace” as part of the tribute ceremony to be held at 5:30 p.m.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLegendary singer Ronnie Spector, who sang many of Phil Spector’s greatest productions as lead vocalist with the Ronettes and was married to him for six tumultuous years, posted about his death on Sunday, calling him a “brilliant producer but a lousy husband.”“It’s a sad day for music and a sad day for me,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “When I was working with Phil Spector, watching him create in the recording studio, I knew I was working with the very best.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn observance of what would have been Aaliyah’s birthday on Saturday, her estate posted an update on its progress in the long-overdue process of bringing her music to streaming services.Much of the influential R&B singer’s catalog, who died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22, has never appeared legally on streaming services due to legal issues with her estate.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn the wake of Hipgnosis Song’s blockbuster growth, former Geffen Records president Neil Jacobsen, who launched his own songwriter-producer management firm in 2019, is lining up a $200 million IPO on the New York Stock Exchange for a new company called the Music Acquisition Corporation.

The Justice Department will not move to terminate or modify the 80-year consent decrees that govern how most music is licensed after a review.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBMG announced that it has acquired “outright” Fleetwood Mac co-founder Mick Fleetwood’s interests in the band’s recordings.The deal gives BMG Fleetwood’s royalty interest in over 300 recordings, including the hits including “Dreams” — which enjoyed a massive resurgence due to recent popularity on TikTok — “The Chain,” “Go Your Own Way” and “Landslide” from albums including the multiplatinum albums “Fleetwood Mac,” “Rumours,” “Tango in the Night” and others.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAtlanta rapper YFN Lucci is wanted on a murder charge in connection with the Dec. 10 shooting of 28-year-old James Adams last month in the southwest area of the city, Atlanta police confirmed to Variety.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorNew York Music Month has become a city institution over the past four years, but for its 2021 iteration, New York Music Months would be a more appropriate title: The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) announces that this year, the series will become “New York Music Month Extended Play,” a six-month virtual edition of the program, launching January 11, 2021 and wrapping June 30, 2021.