Music Industry Moves: Raphael Saadiq Inks Deal With Forward Artist Management

Epic Records was hit by a round of layoffs on Wednesday that sources say has affected approximately 15 people. Details were incomplete at the time of this article’s publication but sources tell Variety that the A&R, promotion, marketing and publicity departments were affected, among others. While a rep for Sony Music declined comment, the company’s fiscal year ends on March 31, so a connection between the two events seems likely.

EXCLUSIVE: Drops of God creator Quoc Dang Tran is getting into business with HBO. The writer-producer has signed a two-year overall deal with the premium cable network to create and executive produce content exclusive to HBO. 

EXCLUSIVE: Lionsgate casting executive Marcello Bellisario has signed a new multi-year deal as EVP, Television Casting for Lionsgate Television and Starz.

Thania Garcia Together with Spotify, the 100 Percenters, who have long rallied for more equitable treatment for songwriters in the industry, will offer career grants of $2,500 each to ten professional songwriters and producers. The partnership is supported by Spotify’s Creator Equity Fund as the latest part of its ongoing commitment to fostering equity in the audio space. Applications for these grants will be open starting March 15 and will close April 15.

Alex Ritman Belfast hip-hop trio Kneecap has canceled several shows they were due to perform at the SXSW festival to support their wild comedy biopic “Kneecap” in “in solidarity with the people of Gaza.” In a statement posted on its social media channels, the group — who go by the stage names of Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap and DJ Próvaí and star as themselves in the film — said that the decision was made due to “highlight the unacceptable deep links the festival has to weapons companies and the US military who at this very moment are enabling a genocide and famine against a trapped population.”We will not be appearing at @sxsw festival.

Reading & Leeds and Glastonbury.Raised in Kilmacthomas, Power moved to London when he was aged 15 and eventually went on to establish the venue and events group Mean Fiddler in the early ‘80s. Towards the end of the decade, the group took control of the Reading festival, before broadening their sights to other music events.These included Leeds Festival, Glastonbury, Phoenix Festival, Hop Farm Music Festival, Benicàssim, Tribal Gathering, Homelands Liverpool and Fleadh.

Emily Longeretta Ariana Grande wasn’t just the musical guest during the March 9 episode of “Saturday Night Live.” While she took the stage to perform “We Can’t Be Friends” and “Imperfect For You” — and was introduced by her mom, Joan Grande, for the second number — she also took on two different sketches. After appearing as a patient in a group therapy session during the first half of the show, she was invited back to the stage later on in the night for a “Moulin Rouge” spoof, giving her the opportunity to sing covers of multiple hit songs.

Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue, has said that the presence of advancing artificial intelligence technology in the music industry is “terrifying”.The songwriter, who is best known for collaborating with Williams over the last two decades, expressed concern that AI technology has the potential to replace songwriters during a talk for music and entertainment industry apprentices at the Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies in Nottingham.“I think we may get to a stage in the future where an album will need to have a badge saying ‘this is an all-human record’,” he said. [via The Guardian]“From what I’ve seen of AI, the acceleration is pretty terrifying, in terms of what it can do and how it could replace songwriters.“Any person could put into an AI programme something like ‘I want a song 100 BPM that sounds like a cross between ABBA and Arctic Monkeys’.

Wondery and Campside Media, the company behind the successful Chameleon franchise, are expanding their relationship with an exclusive audio first-look deal for a multi-project slate. Under the pact, Wondery and Campside will produce Limited Series podcasts, including non-English language titles, to be distributed by Wondery globally, with the first being a German-language series currently in production.

key demand – a cut in the VAT charged on tickets.In response, several representatives from various live music organisations have responded negatively to the proposed budget.Jon Collins, the CEO of Live (Live music Industry Venues & Entertainment), issued a statement expressing frustration on the lack of action in cutting VAT rates.He said: “Today’s Budget represents yet another missed opportunity to accelerate the growth of the live music sector and the wider economy while also providing urgently needed support for grassroots music through the reintroduction of a lower VAT rate. 20% VAT on tickets in the UK is vastly out of step with our competitors in Europe and North America and has become a material factor limiting the number of gigs, tours and festivals our world class industry can put on.”He continued: “Fewer shows mean reduced economic activity in towns and cities across the country – an estimated £1m is spent in local businesses for every 10,000 people who attend a gig – and heaps further pressure onto grassroots music venues that are closing down at an alarming rate.

Alex Ritman Astral Projection, the production company set up by Oscar winner Rachel Weisz and British executive producer Polly Stokes (“American Honey,” “Wild Rose”) has signed a new first-look and development deal with Fremantle. The three-year deal will see Fremantle become the primary home for all TV and film projects for Astral Projection, which co-produced “Dead Ringers,” Amazon’s six-part psychological thriller in which Weisz played both lead roles in a gender-swapped reimagining of the 1988 David Cronenberg film. Stokes, a former creative executive at Film4, and Weisz have a long-standing relationship and are building a slate of projects with Rebecca Servadio as Astral’s literary consultant.

Rachel Weisz and Polly Stokes are taking their slate to Fremantle.

A+E Networks has signed a development deal with Reese Witherspoon‘s Hello Sunshine for lifestyle series which will air as part of A+E’s Home.Made.Nation multi-platform content hub. The first series from the partnership will be Country House Hunters, a co-production between Hello Sunshine and Abode Entertainment, which will premiere in the summer of 2024 on A&E.

EXCLUSIVE: International Artists Management (IAM) has been removed from the UK’s respected agency professional body after Deadline revealed it sent a client misrepresented self-tape audition invites.

Selena Gomez is walking back her comments about leaving the music industry.

EXCLUSIVE: International Artists Management (IAM), the London agency that reps stars including Billy Zane and Gary Dourdan, has admitted sending a client misrepresented invites for self-tape auditions in an attempt to secure him work. 

New York Dolls’ David Johansen, John Lyon and more.The lawsuit was in an effort to regain control of the artists’ masters, and has finally come to a settlement after years of closely-watched class-action litigation against major record labels over copyright law’s termination right.Announced in court papers last week, the agreement between the music label and the musicians will resolve a case which saw artists accuse Sony of unfairly rejecting their efforts to invoke termination – a federal law that’s supposed to let authors take back control of their works decades after they sold them away.Per Reuters, Johansen, Lyon and Paul Collins sued Sony Music back in 2019, accusing the label of barring their termination notices for their music and proceeding to sell it without permission. The case had ben on pause for settlement since 2021.The musicians based their claims off of a part of the Copyrights Act.

There are so many major music industry stars in power couples!

UK Music, which is the collective voice of the UK music industry, has urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to cut VAT in the spring Budget to throw the sector a “vital lifeline” and save venues that are threatened by closure.Tom Kiehl, UK Music’s Interim Chief Executive, has asked Hunt to use his Budget next Wednesday (March 6) to lower the current 20 per cent VAT rate on tickets to 10 per cent as a “boost for consumers, music professionals and venues”.The request to slash VAT is among the recommendations that UK Music has made to the Government in its Budget submission, which outlines the support the sector needs to grow (read it in full here).Currently, music fans in the UK must pay 20 per cent VAT on their tickets – almost double the EU average (10.3 per cent) and around triple the rate in countries like Belgium (six per cent) and Germany (seven per cent). ‌ The 20 per cent rate is the third highest rate of cultural ticketing in Europe. Gig-goers pay more tax on UK tickets than anywhere else in Europe, except Denmark and Lithuania.The calls come amid growing concerns for the future of grassroots venues.

Thania Garcia Universal Music Group Nashville is stepping into the TV and film landscape with the launch of Sing Me Back Home Productions. Sing Me Back Home Productions will “tap into the deep catalog of artists from throughout UMG Nashville’s history as well as celebrating both newly discovered talent and stories,” according to the company’s official announcement.