Members of Congress Slam Daniel Ek and Spotify Over ‘Troubling’ Discovery Mode Policy (EXCLUSIVE)

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJustin Bieber and Dan + Shay have been hit with a copyright lawsuit that claims they borrowed the “core portion” of their Grammy-winning hit “10,000 Hours” from a comparatively obscure 1980 song called “The First Time Baby Is A Holiday.” The complaint was filed Thursday in Los Angeles federal court by a company called Melomega.“Defendants’ theft is impudently bold,” reads the complaint reads, which also names Dan + Shay’s label, Warner Music Group, as a defendant. “One need only listen to ‘First Time’ and the infringing ‘10,000 Hours’ to discern the unmistakable similarities between the songs.” The claim is supported by musicologist Dr.

Simon Cowell has high hopes for the new crop of impressive hopefuls on the upcoming season of. However, the outspoken judge says the auditions didn't fill him with confidence at the start.Cowell — who rocked a brace bandage on his hand from when he broke his arm earlier this year — spoke with ET's Matt Cohen on the red carpet at the Season 17 Kick-Off event at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Wednesday, and opened up about his initial misgivings over the level of talent this season.«When [taping] first started — you know, I am always expecting, always hoping, the show can or should should be better year on year.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorA$AP Rocky was detained on Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport in connection with a November 2021 shooting, NBC News reports, citing “multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the matter” and the rapper’s attorney.Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, was arriving on a private plane from Barbados, where he had been on vacation with Rihanna, his girlfriend. The two are expecting a child together.Rocky’s attorney, Alan Jackson, confirmed to NBC News that his client had been arrested.

They’re back! Days of Our Lives stars Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso have signed on to tell more of Bo and Hope’s love story on the upcoming spinoff Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe France-based streaming service Deezer, which has a relatively low profile in the U.S. but is one of the world’s largest streamers, is merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with an eye toward going public at a $1.13 billion valuation, the companies told the Wall Street Journal.Deezer, which launched in 2007, is merging with Paris-listed I2PO SA.

Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav and other top execs are meeting with employees in a town hall this morning on the Warner lot in Burbank. It’s the first large-scale staff meeting since last Friday’s close of the $43 billion merger.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav brought out the big guns during his address to the new company at its first global town hall for employees Thursday.The newly merged company brought out its most famous employee, Oprah Winfrey, to moderate the event and to help introduce Zaslav to Hollywood.Winfrey is a longtime supporter of the media mogul, who has championed the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) — a cable channel jointly jointed by Warner Bros. Discovery and Harpo Studio — alongside her since its launch in 2011.

A Conservative election candidate in Bury has been ditched by his party due to an alleged anti-Semitic social media post from nearly eight years ago. Sham Raja, who last week was confirmed as one of three Tory candidates for the three council seats up for grabs in the Sedgley ward on May 5, ‘no longer has the endorsement of Bury Conservative Party in this election’, a party spokesman said.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCourtney Holt, a top executive in Spotify’s podcasting business and a four-year veteran of the company, is leaving the streaming giant, a source close to the situation has confirmed to Variety. The source said that Holt’s departure was his decision and is amicable, and that he will stay on as an advisor to the company for the next several months at least.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorRepublic Records is relaunching the Mercury imprint as an “extension” of the label, the company announced Monday. The move is similar to Atlantic’s relaunch of Elektra and Interscope’s of Geffen, an effort to split the parent label’s large roster so that artists receive more attention.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFor a decade, YouTube has been the best way to experience the Coachella festival without actually being there, and that will continue this weekend.According to an announcement on Monday, the streaming giant will livestream both weekends of the festival — April 15-17 and April 22-24 — via desktop, mobile or the YouTube Music app, with three different simultaneous livestream feeds of different stages and performers.The company has also doubled down on its offerings, with artist interviews, behind-the-scenes content and sweepstakes, pre-parties and more, and this year virtual festival-goers will have the opportunity to purchase exclusive Coachella and artist merchandise via YouTube Shopping and interact with one another in real-time through YouTube’s Live Chat. Along with headliners Harry Styles, Billie Eilish and Swedish House Mafia featuring the Weeknd, the Coachella 2022 lineup also includes Lil Baby, Daniel Caesar, Phoebe Bridgers, Big Sean, Megan Thee Stallion, 21 Savage, Danny Elfman, Doja Cat, Joji, Run the Jewels and many more.Weekend 1 Festival Livestream (April 15-17)The livestream program, being co-hosted by Joe Kay, Quenlin Blackwell, Therapy Gecko, and Veronica De La Cruz, starts at 4 PM PST / 7 PM EST on Friday, April 15 and runs through Monday evening, April 18, including replays.Weekend 2 Coachella Curated Livestream (April 22-24)Hosted by Joe Kay and Veronica De La Cruz, Coachella Curated deep dives into the stories of some of today’s artists.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterWarner Bros. Discovery is not going with the “initial wordmark” revealed last June as its official logo.Variety has obtained a low-res copy of a new logo that is being circulated on internal memos at Discovery and WarnerMedia Friday, ahead of the expected close of the merger transaction later today.Discovery did not immediately respond to request for comment on the Warner Bros.

Shocking new details have been released about soccer star Hope Solo‘s recent DUI arrest in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Spotify is facing renewed criticism from US Congress over its Discovery Mode feature, which allows artists to receive additional exposure for a reduced royalty rate.Three Congress members – Yvette D. Clarke, Judy Chu and Tony Cardenas, who represent the Congressional Caucus on Multicultural Media, have sent a letter to Spotify CEO Daniel Ek criticising the feature.In exchange for a boost in visibility, artists and their labels agree to receive a “promotional” royalty rate on those streams, believed to be lower than the standard rate through the feature, which was announced in November 2020.Highlighting this issue, the letter said via Variety: “Choosing to accept reduced royalty payments is a serious risk for musicians, who would only benefit if Discovery Mode yields more total streams for an artist across their entire catalogue, not just the track covered by the program.”“And if two competing artists both enroll their newest track in the program, any benefit could be cancelled out, meaning that the only profit goes to your company’s bottom line.

Shocking details about the circumstances surrounding Hope Solo‘s DUI arrest have been revealed following her release.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDowntown Music Services has inked a global music publishing administration agreement with Brooklyn-based artist, composer and producer Daniel Lopatin, the company announced Wednesday.Lopatin, who records and performs as Oneohtrix Point Never, has released multiple albums and tracks over the years including his most recent project, “Magic Oneohtrix Point Never.”He also has collaborated extensively with the Weeknd over the past two years, serving as an executive producer on the recent “Dawn FM” album, and also was musical director of the artist’s 2021 Super Bowl Half Time performance. Earlier this year he completed work on his first full album production for another artist, Soccer Mommy’s upcoming album “Sometimes, Forever.” His production credits over the years also include David Byrne, Moses Sumney, Anohni and Charli XCX as well as collaborations with Iggy Pop, Rosalía, James Blake and Elizabeth Fraser.His original film scores include Josh and Benny Safdie’s “Uncut Gems” and “Good Time,” for which he received the Best Soundtrack Award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

HBO Max executive vice president and general manager Andy Forssell is leaving WarnerMedia ahead of the close of the company’s merger with Discovery, which is now set to close as early as Friday, Variety has learned.News that Forssell is out the door comes just as sources confirmed WarnerMedia studios and networks group chairman and CEO Ann Sarnoff was informed on Tuesday by leadership that her position would be eliminated, and follows WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s resignation this morning.As Variety reported earlier Tuesday, though insiders previously said the transaction between Discovery and WarnerMedia’s current owner AT&T would be formally completed on April 11, leading to the creation of new company Warner Bros. Discovery, two sources with knowledge of the situation say the merger is now expected to potentially be finalized by the close of business Friday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn a move that sounds like a “Who’s on first?” routine, Shira Knishkowy is joining Another Management Company, leaving Spotify after three years to join the company that oversees the careers of such artists as Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee, Stephen Malkmus, Mary Timony, Snail Mail, Mdou Moctar and Horsegirl, as well as High on Fire, Protomartyr, Sheer Mag and others. Knishkowy’s artist-centric role at Spotify and previous multi-year roles at Matador Records, Partisan Records and Big Hassle Media make her a solid fit for her new role as artist manager and director of digital and creative strategy.Another co-founder Rennie Jaffe says, “I have ultimate confidence that Shira will take the relationships, skill-sets and most importantly the instincts she’s developed over the past 10+ years as a leading music publicist to quickly emerge as a world class artist manager.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorFilm footage of an 11-year-old Prince has been discovered in the archives of Minneapolis television station WCCO.The brief clip, filmed during a teacher’s strike in April of that year, captures the future music icon speaking in support of the teachers, and jumping around with his characteristic impish grin on his face.“I think they should get a better education too cause, um, and I think they should get some more money ‘cause they’re working extra hours for us and all that stuff,” he says.WCCO restored the film to as part of a story about an educators strike in the same district last month. Matt Liddy, the station’s production, was reviewing the footage when one boy in particular caught his eye.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTony Bennett, whose duets album with Lady Gaga is up for five Grammys, has confirmed that he will not be performing with her at the show on Sunday night. Gaga was announced as a performer this morning; the pair are up for two of the top categories, Record of the Year and Album of the Year, for the song “I Get a Kick Out of You” and the album it comes from, “Love for Sale.”Danny Bennett, Tony’s son and longtime manager, says in a statement to Variety:“Tony is beyond thrilled, particularly at the young age of 95, to once again be recognized along with his musical collaborator  and  dear friend Lady Gaga by the Recording Academy for their album ‘Love for Sale.’  To have the album nominated in six categories including Album of the Year and Record of the Year is an incredible honor.