Licensing Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Nellie Andreeva Co-Editor-in-Chief, TVNetflix has picked up freshman CBS series Evil and Unicorn.In an unusual deal, CBS TV Studios, which produces both series, has licensed their first seasons to Netflix in advance of the shows’ upcoming second seasons on CBS. Evil and Unicorn will make their Netflix debut on October 1.The agreement is for one year and not exclusive, with the first seasons of drama Evil and comedy The Unicorn continuing to stream on CBS All Access.

Covid-19 pandemic and remain closed, without a timescale for reopening as normal. But Glasgow ’s Licensing Board has agreed to cut the red tape to process licence variations faster.

Rebecca Davis editorUniversal Music Group (UMG) announced Monday that it has signed multi-year direct licensing agreements in China with both Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) and its competitor NetEase Cloud Music, breaking the past precedent of signing exclusively with the former. The move signals a shake-up in the major labels’ approach to the Chinese market.

Finnish video game developer Rovio Entertainment Group has appointed IMG as the exclusive consumer products licensing agent for the Angry Birds puzzle game franchise. Since its launch on mobile devices in 2009, Angry Birds has attracted tens of millions of active users and spawned two film adaptations — featuring the voices of Maya Rudolph, Josh Gad and Jason Sudeikis — as well as a host of merchandise and consumer products, and even theme park experiences in Finland, the U.K.

Ellise Shafer editorGaming entertainment company Rovio Entertainment Corp.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorRovio Entertainment has appointed IMG as the exclusive worldwide consumer products licensing agent for the iconic Angry Birds franchise, the companies announced Wednesday.Since launching its first mobile game in 2009, Angry Birds has grown into a multi-media brand with a presence in several areas of entertainment, technology and merchandising. It still draws tens of millions of active users and viewers of its games and animated content.

Bloomberg first reported, and will reach global users this fall."We’re constantly building on our relationships within the music industry, and making sure the entire music ecosystem (artists, labels, songwriters, publishers and streaming services) are seeing value in our partnerships,” a Snap, Inc. spokesperson said.Snapchat already allows users to share what they're listening to on Spotify and Apple Music in posts.

Ted Johnson LeAnn Rhimes, Pharrell Williams and Jon Bon Jovi will be keynote speakers next week at a Justice Department workshop on the future of the nearly 80-year-old consent decrees that have governed how works are licensed.The virtual event on July 28 and 29 comes as the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division reviews the ASCAP and BMI decrees, a move that would have huge implications on songwriters, artists and publishers.

Spotify and Universal Music Group have finalized a new and expanded multi-year global licensing agreement. As part of the arrangement, announced Wednesday, the label group deepens its role as an early adopter of Spotify's marketing tools and other tech features that both parties hope will foster more impactful connections between fans and artists in innovative ways.

Spotify and Universal Music Group have finalized a new and expanded multi-year global licensing agreement.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify and Universal Music Group, one of the industry’s three biggest music companies, announced a multiyear global music licensing pact.Under the deal, UMG will “deepen its leading role as an early adopter of future products” on Spotify’s platform and “provide valuable feedback to Spotify’s development team,” the companies said.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify and Universal Music Group, one of the industry’s three biggest music companies, announced a multiyear global music licensing pact.Under the deal, UMG will “deepen its leading role as an early adopter of future products” on Spotify’s platform and “provide valuable feedback to Spotify’s development team,” the companies said.

Podcasting has become an arms race as major streaming and broadcast companies acquire companies and launch partnerships with celebrities for original programming. In the last month, iHeartRadio, through a deal with WarnerMedia, and SiriusXM, through its acquisition of podcast app Stitcher, have attempted to keep pace with the leader of the pack, Spotify. Amidst a flurry of dealmaking for original content

Alexander Wolf, president of SESAC International in Munich.

Nellie Andreeva Co-Editor-in-Chief, TVMad Men is returning to streaming via Amazon and coming back to its original TV home, AMC, as Lionsgate has completed licensing deals for one of the signature series in its TV library.The complex agreement includes global licensing pact with Amazon. The company’s IMDb TV will become Mad Men‘s exclusive free-streaming platform in the US, starting July 15.

Little Simz (a.k.a. Simbi Ajikawo) has renewed her partnership with AWAL Recordings, which provides a full range of services including global marketing and promotion, digital and physical distribution, campaign coordination, A&R support, synch licensing and brand partnerships.Little Simz garnered acclaim with her most recent album, GREY Area, which was released on her own label, Age 101, via AWAL.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNickelodeon has a dizzying array of popular animated characters at its disposal. Now it has a few more: The Smurfs.The ViacomCBS outlet has struck a deal with the worldwide licensors of the popular blue figures, LAFIG Belgium and IMPS, under which it will launch a new animated series and manage consumer products licensing for the property across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Malaysia.

In the third quarter of this year, the still-being built Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) plans to launch its portal so that music rights holders will be able to scrutinize its data to ensure their copyrights are correctly listed -- a key ingredient in making sure everyone receives proper renumeration from streaming services.

The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, you've probably noticed that these last couple of weeks in Bachelor Nation have been pretty revolutionary, to say the least. And you can thank for that! After Rachel called attention to the extreme lack of diversity in the franchise, we got people in and got . But as great as this all is, it isn't good enough for ABC to air Rachel's season on The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons—Ever!

In a series amid the coronavirus pandemic, Billboard is asking individuals from all sectors of the music business to share stories of how they work now, with much of the world quarantined at home and unable to take in-person meetings, attend conferences or even go into the office. Submissions for the series can be sent to [email protected]. Read the full series here.

In a series amid the coronavirus pandemic, Billboard is asking individuals from all sectors of the music business to share stories of how they work now, with much of the world quarantined at home and unable to take in-person meetings, attend conferences or even go into the office. Submissions for the series can be sent to [email protected].

While lockdown is bringing out the best in people, it’s also a breeding ground for online crooks callously taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic.

By Jill Goldsmith

By Andrew Hampp

The Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) has announced several key new hires, including Ellen Truley as chief marketing officer, Leigh McCorkle as chief people officer, Dae Bogan as head of third-party partnerships, Serona Elton as head of education partnerships and Lindsey Major as head of customer experience.As CMO, Truley will leverage her experience in marketing, brand strategy, digital initiatives, advertising and public relations to help The MLC build a communications operation.McCorkle,

Police are urging the public not to send money to fraudsters posing as TV Licensing officers.

TikTok has struck short-term licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group, multiple sources tell Billboard, as the rapidly growing video-making app continues to establish itself in the music industry.

A little over eight months after announcing it had renewed licensing deals with "two of our four major label partners," Spotify ticked a third off its list on Wednesday in a joint announcement with Warner Music Group."Warner Music Group and Spotify are pleased to announce a renewed global licensing partnership," the two parties said in a statement. "This expanded deal covers countries where Spotify is available today, as well as additional markets.

At the stroke of 8 a.m. ET, Spotify and Warner Music announced that they have renewed their global licensing deal. The two companies are believed to have been out of contract for around nine months, although that is not an uncommon situation for streaming services and music companies.

TikTok has struck short-term licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group, multiple sources tell Billboard, as the rapidly growing video-making app continues to establish itself in the music industry.

TikTok has struck short-term licensing deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group, multiple sources tell Billboard, as the rapidly growing video-making app continues to establish itself in the music industry.

By Jill Goldsmith

Apple Music has inked new, multi-year licenses with the three major music companies — Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group — in recent months, according to the Financial Times, although the deals do not extend to the company’s planned bundles with Apple TV or Apple Arcade.

An historic nightclub got the go-ahead to expand its operation after a boss said council licensing conditions must not restrict viable business. 

By Jill Goldsmith

International collections at U.K. music licensing company PPL have more than doubled over the past five years, reaching a record high of £86.7 million ($112 million) in 2019.