Stephen Sondheim left behind an estate worth an estimated $75 million

The widow of Ol Dirty Bastard – Icelene Jones – is suing Wu-Tang Productions, claiming that it has “wilfully refused” to pay the ODB estate at least $1 million in royalties stemming from the late rapper’s solo recordings and his work with Wu-Tang Clan.The lawsuit, which was filed in New York earlier this week, claims that the label – owned by Wu-Tang leader RZA – has failed to pay out proper royalties or provide accounts for more than ten years, instead making occasional payments without any real information on what they relate to.It says that ODB’s agreement with Wu-Tang Productions prior to his death in 2004 stated that he would receive 50% of any publishing income from his work, while 50% of net recordings income would be shared between the artists appearing on each track. Recordings income was meant to be paid within 45 days of receipt by the label, with publishing income paid twice yearly.

NEW YORK -- The band Spoon has taken a sonic fork in the road and, appropriately enough, the first single from their new album mentions another piece of silverware — a knife.“The Hardest Cut” — complete with the line "we live on a knife" — roars with a dark, grunge-meets-'70s guitar energy, a signal of what's to come from the Texas-based band on their 10-track, 10th album, “Lucifer on the Sofa.”“We wanted to make a rock ‘n’ roll record, a great rock ‘n’ roll record," says frontman Britt Daniel. "I just don’t feel like there’s enough great rock ‘n’ roll records being made these days.”“Lucifer on the Sofa” via Matador Records is a turn toward more muscular, minimalist classic rock, more aggressive and rehearsed than the band's predecessor “Hot Thoughts,” where synths were prominent and songs constructed on the fly.“We always tend to want to react a bit against the record we just did.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorConsolidation in the video ad-tech space continues apace: Innovid, a provider of connected-TV advertising delivery and measurement, announced plans to buy media-attribution firm TVSquared for $160 million.TVSquared tracks response to TV and digital video advertising to try to determine the effectiveness of marketing spend. The Edinburgh, Scotland-based company’s clients and partners include NBCUniversal, Roku, Sky, Hulu, Tegna, Tubi and Comcast’s FreeWheel.

Spotify‘s royalty rates.The under-fire streaming service’s model means that a single stream of a song, and the revenue that brings in, is activated after just 30 seconds of airtime.As such, The Pocket Gods have decided to release a new album of songs that are all around the 30-second mark, inspired by an article in the i by New York-based music professor Mike Errico, who said that Spotify’s methods surrounding what constitutes a stream could signal the end of the three-minute pop song.“I saw the article and it made me think, ‘Why write longer songs when we get paid little enough for just 30 seconds?’,” The Pocket Gods frontman Mark Christopher Lee told i News.The new album – ‘1000×30 – Nobody Makes Money Anymore’ – directly references Spotify’s business model, and as such Lee says that it means the band “run the risk of being thrown off the platform”.Of the process of writing the album, he added: “We wrote and recorded 1,000 songs, each a shade over 30 seconds long for the album. The longest is 36 seconds.

Savannah Guthrie has shared a rare behind-the-scenes moment with fans as she prepares for the 2022 Winter Olympics on NBC.MORE: Savannah Guthrie shares throwback baby bump photo during touching on-air tributeThe Today Show star will host the NBC coverage of the Opening Ceremony from New York after it was confirmed that the anchors would not be sent to China over continuing COVID-19 concerns, and she took to social media to share a video taken from behind the cameras.WATCH: Today Show's Savannah Guthrie shares rare behind-the-scenes moment with fans ahead of new projectSavannah was joined by former Olympian Lindsey Vonn for studio rehearsals, with Lindsey sharing a video and Savannah later resharing it.The mom-of-two also posted several pictures from the green room, captioning the post: "Getting ready!MORE: Savannah Guthrie shares incredible family photo featuring her rarely-seen siblingsSavannah was sent to Tokyo in 2021 for the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics but the team will mostly report from the studio's Stamford facility and 30 Rock in Manhattan.Today anchor Craig Melvin will represent the morning show in Beijing across the two weeks, while Mike Tirico will also be in the Chinese city for the Opening Ceremony and the first few days of the game.A post shared by Savannah Guthrie (@savannahguthrie)On Wednesday Team USA announced that John Shuster and Brittany Bowe will carry the American flag at Friday's Winter Olympics opening ceremony.John, 39, will make history as the first curler to carry the flag during the opening ceremony.

TopTenRealEstateDeals.com we have a list of the top 10 celebrity real estate news. From Tina Turner, Kelly Clarkson,Adele, and more check out what‘s going down with celebrity real estate.KELLY CLARKSON’S EX GETS 5% OF HER MONTANA RANCHKelly Clarkson has given her former husband, Brandon Blackstock, 5% of her Montana ranch.

Hulu has given an eight-episode series order to Up Here, a musical romantic comedy from Tony-winning playwright Steven Levenson (tick, tick… BOOM!), Danielle Sanchez-Witzel (The Carmichael Show, My Name Is Earl), Tony-winning Hamilton director Thomas Kail and Oscar, Emmy and Grammy-winning duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Frozen, WandaVision). 20th Television and Kail’s Old 320 Sycamore Productions co-produce the series, which is currently casting with production set to begin this summer in New York.

Playdate time! In the weeks since Olivia Munn and John Mulaney welcomed son Malcolm, their little one has been getting to know his parents’ famous friends. Next up: Pete Davidson.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editortephen Hayes, the conservative political analyst who raised eyebrows in November when he took to The New York Times to announce his breaking ties with Fox News Channel as a longtime contributor, is taking up with NBC News in advance of the midterm elections.Hayes is expected to appear regularly across all NBC News properties, including TV shows like “Today,” “Meet The Press” and the streaming outlet NBC News Now. His first appearance under his new contributor deal with the NBCUniversal news division is expected to take place this Sunday on “Meet The Press.”Hayes is a founder of “The Dispatch,” a digital publication that espouses a center-right  point of view.

Jana Bennett was the former director of BBC TV who oversaw the reboot of “Dr. Who” and the popular series “Sherlock.”  Jana Bennett was the first woman to be the director of television for the BBC. While in the position, she oversaw the successful series “Sherlock,” “Life on Mars,” and the reboot of “Dr.

NEW YORK -- Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has worn many hats and even “some incredibly ridiculous trousers,” as he puts it. Rock star, airline pilot and cancer survivor are some of what has defined him.

PORTLAND, Maine -- Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey has resolved claims against the estate of the late artist Robert Indiana and several law firms accused of excessive legal fees, officials said Monday.The settlement totals more than $2 million, most of which was paid by the firms through refunds or credits, the attorney general said.Indiana, creator of the famous “LOVE” series, spent the last decades of his life on Vinalhaven Island, 15 miles (25 kilometers) off Rockland, Maine.After his death on May 19, 2018, at 89, his will called for tapping his estate valued at $90 million at the time of his death to transform his island home into a museum to celebrate his work.“Every dollar going unnecessarily to pay lawyers and the personal representative was another dollar unavailable to the charity to fulfill its mission and Robert Indiana’s vision,” Frey said in a statement.The attorney general originally contended $3.7 million paid to four law firms in New York and Maine and $403,000 billed by the estate's personal representative were excessive.James Brannan, a Rockland attorney who's the estate's personal representative, disputed the attorney general's claims but said in a statement that he's “pleased to put an end to the dispute."The estate had been entangled in a lawsuit brought by Morgan Art Foundation, which claimed rights to the LOVE series.The lawsuit, filed a day before Indiana's death, accused the reclusive artist’s caretaker and an art publisher of taking advantage of Indiana and producing forgeries — accusations the pair denied.

Jennifer Lopez, 52, proved she’s comfortable behind the wheel of a car despite not driving on a regular basis during her latest outing. The singer was photographed enjoying a drive by herself in her white Bentley convertible over the weekend and looked gorgeous. She had her long hair down and wore sunglasses as she focused on the road in a stylish coat.

NEW YORK -- One of the most memorable scenes in “ Belfast ” is when Jamie Dornan's character serenades his wife (played by Caitriona Balfe) with “ Everlasting Love.” The lighting, choreography and wardrobe makes Dornan look like a matinee idol.As the film makes the rounds at award shows — its ensemble is nominated at the SAG awards and it's tied with “West Side Story” with 11 nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards — Dornan says he has been approached “more than once” by “awards commentator-type pundits” about whether he would perform the song at this year's Academy Awards, if asked.“Unless faced with the actual sincere prospect of it, I don't really know how to answer that,” said Dornan. But he does add, “I would be so terrified to have to do something like that.

Stephen Malkmus debuted two new songs at a gig in Portland at the weekend alongside one of Pavement‘s classic tracks.The singer-songwriter, best known as the frontman of indie rock stalwarts Pavement, played his first gig since 2019 on Sunday (January 16) at The Alberta Abbey.Accompanied by his live band – made up of The Decemberists’ Chris Funk, Brad Truax and Jake Morris – Malkmus’s set included a performance of Pavement’s ‘Father To A Sister Of Thought’ and a cover of Wilco‘s ‘Box Full Of Letters’.He also debuted two new songs titled ‘MTV’ and ‘Making Friends’, and he played ‘Blue Arrangements’ by Silver Jews, the New York band he formed in 1989 with Bob Nastanovich and the late David Berman.The two new songs are yet to be released, but fan footage from the show has landed online – you can check out clips from the show below.A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)A post shared by Sprout (@sproutniblet)You can listen to the Portland show in full here:‘Amberjack’‘Xian Man’‘Signal Western’‘Making Friends’‘MTV’‘Brainwashed’‘Juliefuckingette’‘Shadowbanned’‘The Greatest Own In Legal History’‘Piccolo’‘Not Fade/Seeger’‘Blue Arrangements’ (Silver Jews song)‘Faces Of Ocean Rain’‘Father To A