Linda Ronstadt Sells Recorded Music Assets to Irving Azoff’s Iconic Artists Group

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt’s not often that you’ve got Homer’s Odyssey and “Grey’s Anatomy” combined for the theme of a music video, but it happens in the clip for “Kiss Me More,” the new collaborative single from Doja Cat and SZA.The song, crafted by Travis Scott collaborator Roger TK and Doja’s team of Yeti Beats, TK and of course Dr.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIt would be an understatement to say that Jeffrey Harleston is a busy man. As if being general counsel and executive VP of business and legal affairs for the world’s largest music company, Universal Music Group (UMG), wasn’t enough, he has five or six other major gigs going on simultaneously.For the past year, Harleston, who is keynote speaker at Variety’s Power of Law breakfast this year, has also been interim chairman/CEO of Def Jam Recordings.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAttorney Joel Katz, former founding chairman of Greenberg Traurig’s entertainment and media practice and a top official at the Recording Academy, has joined Barnes & Thornburg. He will remain based in Atlanta, where he will serve as as senior counsel for the firm’s entertainment, media and sports practice.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records has promoted Xiarra-Diamond Nimrod to vice president of marketing strategy, the label’s EVP and general manager Jim Roppo and SVP of marketing Marleny Reyes announced.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music Publishing announced it has acquired the song catalog of Paul Simon, one of the most successful and influential songwriters of the past 75 years. The milestone deal includes Paul Simon’s classic songs spanning more than six decades, from his time as a member of Simon & Garfunkel, through his extraordinary career as a solo artist – among them, “The Sound of Silence,” “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” “The Boxer,” “Mrs.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn an optimistic move toward normalcy, the Recording Academy has announced that the 64 th annual Grammy Awards will take place at the show’s traditional home of the Staples Center on Jan. 31, 2022 — exactly a year after the originally scheduled date of the 2021 awards, which were moved to March 14 due to a spike in coronavirus cases in Southern California.As usual, the show will broadcast live on the CBS television network from 8 – 11:30 p.m.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe legendary and reclusive “dreampop” quartet My Bloody Valentine have signed with Domino Records, which has finally released the group’s entire official catalog digitally today (March 31).

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter a few weeks of rumors and a pair of anonymous social-media posts, a group of top-level songwriters calling themselves the Pact went above ground on Tuesday with a letter calling for an end to the one of the longest-running open secrets of the music industry: the practice of artists demanding credit and publishing for songs they did not write.Although the initial signatories did not name names of offending artists, the list includes cowriters of songs by such

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThree days after an anonymous songwriters group named the Pact called for artists to stop demanding credit for songs they did not write, the group has followed with a letter signed by Emily Warren, Ross Golan, Justin Tranter, Victoria Monet and others pledging that the signatories “will not give publishing or songwriting credit to an artist who did not create or change the lyric or melody or otherwise contribute to the composition without a reasonably

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs the music-publishing market continues to heat up to unprecedented levels, songwriter groups have begun speaking out. On the heels of a petition launched in the U.K.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe Mondo.NYC music and tech conference has announced its 2021 dates and schedule — which is currently a four-day virtual interactive meeting and livestream, although organizers are “hopeful” that conditions will allow at least some elements to take place in person.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAhead of Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey testifying before the House Energy & Commerce Committee this afternoon, the RIAA, the National Music Publishers Association, the American Association of Independent Music, Songwriters of North America and the Music Artists Coalition have jointly penned a letter to committee leadership detailing how Twitter has “failed to meet the basic standards of moderation when it comes to the rampant theft of creative works on its platform,”

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn the wake of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement last month that mass-gatherings can begin a cautious return this summer, the London music festival All Points East has announced more performers for its 2021 edition — scheduled for August 27-30 in Victoria Park — and the country’s largest festival, Glastonbury, is moving ahead with plans for a scaled-down event in September.Joining previously announced All Points East headliners Jamie xx, Kano, and

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn observance of Women’s History Month, MIDIA Research and TuneCore/Believe have released a new study on the challenges faced by female creators in today’s music industry.The report, BE THE CHANGE: Women Making Music 2021, collects the views of 401 female creators –artists, songwriters, producers and DJs – from around the world, many of whom are independent artists.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTriller, the short-form video app, has struck a licensing agreement with the National Music Publishers’ Association, which represents most American music publishers. The deal will see the platform compensating the songwriters and publishers covered by NMPA when their songs are used in videos on the platform.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe already-crowded music-catalog-acquisition business just got a formidable new player: Germany-based music company BMG and global investment firm KKR have announced they will join forces to pursue recorded music, music publishing and other music-rights acquisitions.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe revival of the touring business took another tentative step forward when AEG, the world’s second-largest live-entertainment company, sent a notice to furloughed staffers that they will begin returning to work on April 1.According to an email to staff from AEG CEO Dan Beckerman, the first group of employees who had been furloughed or had reduced hours will begin returning at the top of next month, with a goal of all affected staffers “return[ing] to work at full

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe staff of Secretly Group, one of the largest independent music companies in the U.S., announced plans on Tuesday morning to form a union to address a list of concerns they’re hoping to correct with a union contract, according to an open letter and an article in Rolling Stone.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDaddy Yankee was named Songwriter of the Year for the third time and Sony Music Publishing won top publisher honors at the ASCAP 2021 Latin Music Awards on Monday night. Daddy Yankee’s haul for the evening added to his record-setting total of 42 ASCAP Latin Music Awards.