Paul Simon Sells Song Catalog to Sony Music Publishing

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEver since the music industry began its streaming-fueled recovery around five years ago, the songwriting and publishing communities have been protesting not only the uneven payment structure of streaming — which sees recorded-music rights holders being paid three times what publishing is paid — but also the imbalanced power and payment structures of the music industry.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSongwriters of North America (SONA) will launch its first ever SONA Warrior Awards on May 23, with legendary songwriter Paul Williams as the inaugural honoree.The virtual event will feature tributes and performances dedicated to Williams.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEarly Friday, Apple Music sent a carefully worded letter to artists, music labels and publishers that briefly explained “how creators earn royalties” from the service, which is the world’s second-largest, behind Spotify.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorApple Music claims it pays artists a penny per stream in a letter posted Friday on the streaming service’s artist dashboard, according to the Wall Street Journal.The disclosure, made in a letter to artists delivered Friday via the service’s artist dashboard and sent to labels and publishers, is seemingly a response to Spotify’s “Loud and Clear” report detailing its payment processes published last month.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorJust days after DMX died, a new song from the Epix series “Godfather of Harlem” has been released, featuring the late rapper with his longtime friend Swizz Beatz and French Montana.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorNew York-based music-rights company Reservoir Holdings has announced that it will list on NASDAQ through a merger with the Roth CH Acquisition II Company.According to the announcement, the transaction values the combined company at $788 million and is expected to provide approximately $246 million in gross proceeds to the company.Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be renamed Reservoir Media, Inc.

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 EditorThe Weeknd has announced a new, exclusive NFT collection of artwork and new music, that will be available exclusively on Nifty Gateway. The limited-time auction will be held on Saturday, April 3rd at 2 p.m.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSome artists are coy about their sexuality, and some just go for it.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOne of the major tenets of recovering is owning your past, and no one can accuse Demi Lovato of coming up short on that count.

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 EditorTaylor Swift’s re-recorded version of her debut album “Fearless” comes with bonus tracks taken “From the Vault,” and the singer announced Wednesday morning that “You All Over Me,” the first such song, will arrive Thursday night at 12 a.m. ET.Swift also revealed that the song features country star Maren Morris on vocals, and was produced by her “Folklore” and “Evermore” collaborator Dessner.“HI.

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 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.