Oneohtrix Point Never — a.k.a. Electronic Musician and Weeknd Collaborator Daniel Lopatin — Signs Publishing Deal With Downtown

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust two days after Record Store Day, the company Vinyl Me, Please has announced that it is building an audiophile-grade vinyl pressing plant in Denver that is scheduled to open by the end of 2022 for production, tours and special events. The news also comes after years of a vinyl-manufacturing backlog that has caused the delay of vinyl copies of many releases.“Quality control and availability are critical to maintaining and expanding our leadership position in the vinyl industry,” said VMP CEO Cameron Schaefer.

EXCLUSIVE: Actor, singer, and producer Diego Boneta (Rock of Ages, Luis Miguel: The Series) and his production company Three Amigos have signed an overall deal with Prime Video.

EXCLUSIVE: Daniel Durant, who starred alongside Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur and Eugenio Derbez in Apple’s 2022 Best Picture Oscar winner CODA, has signed with Buchwald for representation.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter months of gradually unveiling details, Megan Thee Stallion specifically recounted her recollections of the July 2020 incident in which Tory Lanez allegedly shot her in the feet after an argument following a party at Kylie Jenner’s Hollywood home.In a long and tearful interview with Gayle King on “CBS Mornings,” Megan unambiguously confirmed previous statements on social media and in the press that Lanez (real name: Daystar Peterson) shot her in the feet as she attempted to walk away from a car in which they were traveling with friend Kelsey Nicole and Lanez’s bodyguard, shouting “Dance, bitch!”She also admitted that she initially lied to police about the incident in an attempt to protect the people in the car — all of whom were Black and were being detained at gunpoint by police — saying that she had stepped on glass. She said her instinct was to protect her friends, even though they had just argued, especially because the incident took place at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMegan Thee Stallion will talk about the 2020 incident in which Tory Lanez allegedly shot her on “CBS Mornings” Monday. The incident, in which Megan has claimed publicly that Lanez shot her in the feet after an argument following a party at Kylie Jenner’s house in July of 2020, has never been fully explained; the court case is ongoing. Megan has slowly revealed details on social media and in interviews; Lanez has vaguely denied it in statements and in several songs.But according to a preview clip of the interview with Gayle King that airs tomorrow (Monday, April 25), Megan tearfully discussed the issue on television with her for the first time.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentDaniel Roher, the award-winning director and producer behind Sundance documentary “Navalny,” has signed with Anonymous Content for management.“Navalny” revolves around Alexei Navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent in Aug. 2020. The riveting documentary shows how Navalny made shocking discoveries about the attempt on his life during his months-long recovery and decided to return home.The film premiered at Sundance to rave reviews and received both the Audience and Festival Favorite awards.

Sasha Urban editorBobak Esfarjani, best known for his work as a writer and producer on NBC’s “Manifest” and as a story editor on “WandaVision” for Disney+, has signed an overall deal with FX Productions.Esfarjani is currently a writer and supervising producer on FX’s upcoming “Alien” series, as well as a show based on the Octavia Butler novel “Kindred.” Esfarjani was previously nominated for a WGA award for his work on “WandaVision.” He will continue work on these and other series for FX, in addition to developing new content.“Bobak has greatly contributed to FX’s upcoming ‘Kindred’ and ‘Alien’ and now, under this agreement, he will be able to apply his considerable talents to other FX series while developing original content that draws on his vision as a writer and creator,” said Kate Lambert, FX’s executive vice president of original programming. Credits of Esfarjani’s also include James Wan’s “Archive 81” for Netflix.

FX Productions has signed writer and contributing producer Bobak Esfarjani (FX’s Kindred and Alien) to an overall deal. Under the agreement, Esfarjani will continue to work on these and other series while developing new content for the network.

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.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs if it didn’t take long enough to get to the 21st installment of Coachella — what with a pandemic, four postponements and yet another recent Covid spike — when original Sunday headliner Kanye West pulled out two weeks ago, Swedish House Mafia had to transform their vaguely defined position on the lineup into a headlining set. In short order the Weeknd — who is still deep in work on his HBO series “The Idol,” which he cowrote, coproduced and stars in — agreed to bump up his previously planned brief appearance with the EDM titans to a co-headlining spot with them, but he had just two weeks to pull together a set.

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.

Elvis Presley‘s back catalogue.Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a global brand owner, marketing and entertainment company and owner of Elvis Presley Enterprises, have today (April 12) announced a deal over the late icon’s worldwide hits.Excluding the UK, it will cover the likes of classic hits such as ‘Can’t Help Falling In Love’, ‘It’s Now Or Never’, ‘Memories’, ‘A Little Less Conversation’, ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Love Me Tender’, ‘Viva Las Vegas’, ‘Teddy Bar’, ‘Amazing Grace’, ‘All Shook Up’ and ‘Tears On My Pillow’.Marc Cimino, Chief Operating Officer at UMPG, said: “Elvis Presley has had an unprecedented and lasting global impact on music and pop culture. Jody Gerson and I, along with UMPG’s teams around the world, couldn’t be more excited and honoured to work with ABG in making sure that Elvis’ iconic legacy endures for generations to come.”“2022 is shaping up to be a banner year for Elvis, highlighted by the highly-anticipated theatrical release this June of Elvis directed by Baz Luhrmann, as well as the debut of Netflix’s upcoming animated action series Agent King,” said Marc Rosen, President, Entertainment at ABG.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe 100 Percenters, a music-creatives advocacy nonprofit, has announced a partnership with Sony Music Publishing designed to provide financial relief and support to U.S. songwriters, composers, and producers.With support from SMP, the 100 Percenters will offer relief funding to songwriters who the ongoing pandemic has impacted through its Songwriter Stimulus Program, according to the announcement.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorElvis Presley’s catalog will be administered by Universal Music Publishing and represented by Authentic Brands Group, the companies announced Tuesday.As part of the expanded relationship, UMPG and ABG will represent Presley’s catalog of hits worldwide (excluding the U.K.), which includes such classics as “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “It’s Now or Never,” “Memories,” “A Little Less Conversation,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Love Me Tender,” “Viva Las Vegas,” “Amazing Grace,” “All Shook Up,” “Tears on My Pillow” and countless more.The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, comes at an auspicious time, as Baz Luhrmann’s biopic “Elvis,” starring Tom Hanks and Austin Butler, arrives in theaters June 24 and premieres next month at the Cannes Film Festival. ABG’s formidable portfolio includes such iconic celebrity brands such as Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Muhammad Ali.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe estate of the late Mexican singer-songwriter Juan Gabriel has signed an exclusive, worldwide agreement with Virgin Music US Latin and extended its agreement with Universal Music Publishing Group. Under the new deal, Virgin Music US Latin will now represent Juan Gabriel’s post-2008 catalog and future recordings, while UMPG will represent his entire catalog through an extended, exclusive global publishing agreement, bringing Gabriel’s music under the Universal Music roof.New music will be released “in the coming months,” the announcement continues, including the highly anticipated “Los Duo 3, including duets with Mon LaFerte and Gloria Trevi as well as posthumously recorded duets. Billboard notes that Gabriel, who died in 2016, left behind dozens of unreleased recordings, including new songs and re-recordings of older ones.

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.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThree members of Congress have written to Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek, criticizing him over the company’s policy of promoting an artist’s music on its Discovery Mode platform in exchange for a reduced royalty rate. Among other notes, the letter requests that Spotify label such as paid content; the company announced the policy, which has come under heavy criticism, in 2020.The letter, written on official Congress stationary and obtained by Variety, is dated March 26, 2022 and signed by Reps.