Roblox and National Music Publishers Association Settle $200 Million Copyright Lawsuit

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorThe streaming rates determined by the Copyright Royalty Board every five years are an always-contentious situation pitting the major streaming services against music publishers, and the battle over the rates between 2023 and 2027 is no exception.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPrimary Wave has acquired a stake in the catalog of Gerry Goffin, lyricist for dozens of classic songs with his former wife Carole King: “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman,” “Up on the Roof,” “The Loco-Motion,” “One Fine Day,” “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “Wasn’t Born to Follow,” “Pleasant Valley Sunday,” “I’m Into Something Good” and many, many other songs that epitomized the “Brill Building” sound that dominated the hit

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLong-running footwear brand Dr. Martens has announced their 2021 “Dr.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTo judge by the first footage to be aired from the Beatles’ forthcoming “Get Back” documentary — created by “Lord of the Rings” director Peter Jackson from the 50-year-old footage from the group’s swan-song “Let It Be” movie — it would be a counter-narrative to the depressing “Let It Be” film.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBread Charity, a non-profit founded by Mustafa Sheikh (a.k.a. rapper Lil Mussie) with a mission to aid children living in poverty, has launched Bread Studios in Nipsey Hussle’s former middle school, Edwin Markham Middle School, in the Watts area of Los Angeles.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSony Music’s top executives were informed of abusive behavior by the company’s long-running Australian chief, Dennis Handlin, more than two decades before he stepped down earlier this year, according to a detailed report by the country’s Australian Broadcasting Corporation that aired Sunday.Handlin — one of the most powerful executives in the country’s music business, who was also chairman of the Australian Recording Industry Association and an Officer of the Order

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhile there was no official announcement, Sony Music is expanding its “Artists Forward” program with the opening of Artist Assistance, a service offering access to free, confidential counseling services to address stress, anxiety, depression, grief, family and relationship issues.Active-roster artists around the world will now be able connect with a dedicated, licensed therapist at no cost. Participation is completely confidential, according to a letter the company

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSplice, the platform for rights-cleared sounds and beats, has established its first Global Music Council, a strategic advisory board of artist entrepreneurs, activists and experts in major music territories. According to the announcement, the advisors were hand-picked to provide diverse perspectives, and an artist’s lens, on expanding access to Splice’s music creation platform around the world.Splice’s Global Music Council will be chaired by Caron Veazey, founder

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorPioneering Puerto Rican reggaetón artist Daddy Yankee has signed with WME in all areas. Among many other feats since he first emerged in the 1990s, he recently became the only Latin artist to log over one billion Spotify streams on three tracks, and also has racked up more than 7 billion streams in the last 12 months alone on YouTube — due only in part to “Despacito,” his collaboration with Luis Fonsi.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter more than twenty years of horrifying and damning accusations, as of today R.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTicketing platform Dice has raised up to to $122 million in Series C funding in a round was led by new investor, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with follow on investments from Tony Fadell’s Future Shape, Blisce, French entrepreneur Xavier Niel, Mirabaud Private Equity, Cassius and Evolution.“We believe DICE’s technology has the capacity to transform the future of live entertainment,” said Yanni Pipilis, Managing Partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAtlanta rapper 21 Savage, the British born-artist who was arrested by ICE in 2019 for overstaying his visa, turned himself in to authorities on Thursday night on drug and weapons possession charges stemming from his earlier arrest. He was released on bond, his attorney confirmed to Variety.Savage (real name: She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) was taken into custody by ICE during Grammy Week in February of 2019, which amplified awareness of his immigration status.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorEvery person who worked on Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” released 30 years ago today, says that the album basically broke itself, almost immediately taking on a life of its own in a way that could never have been planned — “Get out of the way and duck” was a phrase that record company executives said often at the time.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn Thursday, just 15 months after it was formed, the Black Music Action Coalition will host its inaugural Music in Action Awards gala in Los Angeles, honoring musicians, executives, businesses, entrepreneurs, and activists who have made significant contributions to social justice, change, and/or equity over the preceding year.BMAC, which was formed after the transformative yet all-too-familiar events leading up to the Black Lives Matter protests last spring, will

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn a day that has been remarkably good for music companies on stock markets, Warner Music Group — which saw its stock climb thanks in part to Universal Music’s lofty IPO — on Tuesday announced the sale of an aggregate of 2,340,000 shares of the company’s common stock by affiliates of Access Industries to Morgan Stanley & Co. as the sole underwriter in the registered public offering of those shares.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAfter months of strong words, the National Music Publishers’ Association and livestreaming platform Twitch have announced an agreement to work together “to build productive partnerships between the service and music publishers,” according to the announcement.The deal follows months of animosity toward the Amazon-owned streaming platform, from the NMPA along with other industry trade groups, including the RIAA and the Recording Academy, over what they deemed its

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBjorn Ulvaeus, co-founder of ABBA and president of CISAC, unveiled a new global initiative called “Credits Due” on Tuesday that is intended to upgrade the music industry’s payment processes.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHipgnosis Songs, founded by Merck Mercuriadis and launched on the London Stock Exchange in 2018, is one of the most disruptive upstarts in recent music industry history, spending more than $2 billion acquiring catalogs of hitmakers ranging from the Chainsmokers to half of Neil Young’s work, with a foundation in lesser-known but high-earning songwriters and producers such as Kanye West/Harry Styles collaborator Jeff Bhasker and Eurythmics cofounder Dave

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorReggaeton star, actor and philanthropist Don Omar has signed a multiyear partnership with Saban Music Group (SMG). The label founded by entertainment giant Haim Saban and headed by CEO Gustavo López is home to such acts as Static and Ben El, Nakkia Gold and Chesca, among others.“I am thrilled to be joining forces with Saban Music Group and being backed by the savvy business and artistic instincts of Haim and Gus,” said Omar.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorApparently concerts, albums, documentaries, writing songs with Mick Jagger, VMA honors and writing books aren’t enough to keep the indefatigable Dave Grohl busy: Now he’s doing a book tour.Later this month and next, Grohl will undertake an extremely limited run of intimate evenings that’ll see (and hear) him bring his first book to life: “The Storyteller –Tales of Life and Music,” which is described as “a collection of memories of a life lived loud,” is out October