Wu-Tang Clan Signs Deal With Downtown Music Publishing

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorBarely half a day after Tory Lanez refuted Megan Thee Stallion’s allegations that he shot her via the lyrics in his surprise album “Daystar,” Megan’s team fired back with a claim that representatives for Lanez have attempted to stage a “smear campaign” against her in an effort to discredit her claims against him.The incident in question took place in Los Angeles on July 12, when Lanez was arrested for possession of a concealed firearm after being pulled over in a

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWhen you love something — a person, a dessert, a hat, or in this case, an album — you tend to want more of it. Usually, in the case of albums, there are some leftover songs that are not-quite-as-good as the ones that made the cut, and occasionally there are great ones.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorUTA announced that Samantha Kirby Yoh has been named co-head of UTA Music, joining David Zedeck in overseeing the company’s worldwide music operations.“Sam and David see eye-to-eye on how to build a great music business and will be strong partners in leading UTA Music,” said UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer. “We have long admired Sam’s success working with unique and powerful artists, and we’re thrilled she has chosen to join us.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorC.J. Strock, formerly of William Morris Endeavor, joins Patrick McAuliff and Phil Egenthal, formerly of Paradigm Talent Agency to form Mint Talent Group, the new company announced early Tuesday.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTomorrow — Tuesday, Sept. 22 — is National Voter Registration Day and the HeadCount non-profit organization is leading a coordinated music industry effort involving hundreds of artists, concert venues, and digital platforms.For starters, more than 300 notable musicians will post messages and photos on their social media wearing “VOTE” masks and a call for followers to register to vote or check their voter registration status.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAs the first major pandemic awards show, the 2020 Emmys were fascinating and numbing, joyous and sad, unprecedented in most ways and, to our lockdown-dulled senses, all too familiar in others.While Jimmy Kimmel made many jokes about the situation in his audience-less (and thankless) role as host, if there was one person who made the viewing audience feel like she was performing in an arena filled with people, it was Grammy-winning R&B singer H.E.R., who delivered a

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMusic publishing giant Kobalt, whose roster includes Paul McCartney, The Weeknd, Dave Grohl, Childish Gambino and Lorde, responded to sale rumors that broke into the open on Wednesday evening with a wordy “maybe.”“We’ve always had great interest in the company,” a rep for Kobalt said in statement.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn day two of his latest epic Twitter binge, Kanye West followed through on his complaints about the music industry and his demands to be released from his recording and music-publishing deals by tweeting out dozens of pages from his recording contract with Universal Music Group.After referring to the music industry as “modern day slavery,” West tweeted, “Here are my ten Universal contracts … I need every lawyer in the world to look at these,” and after posting

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorGrammy-winning DJ-producer Tiesto has signed a worldwide deal with Atlantic and Big Beat Records and will drop a new single called (fittingly enough) “The Business” next Friday (Sept. 25) — hear a preview of the song below.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorToots Hibbert, who passed away Friday night at the age of 77, was one of the last surviving founders of reggae music. The influence of his six-decade career is evidenced by the wide variety of artists paying tribute to him in the hours after his death.Ziggy Marley, recording artist and son of reggae titan Bob — who was a friend and contemporary of Hibbert’s — wrote, “The Legendary Toots Hibbert has passed.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorDespite the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues for recorded music actually increased in the U.S. in the first half of 2020, according to the Recording Industry Association of America’s mid-year report.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorHipgnosis Songs has acquired Big Deal Music Group and brought board its senior staff, with Kenny MacPherson becoming CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Group and reporting directly to founder and CEO Merck Mercuriadis. He is joined by Co-Presidents Casey Robison and Jamie Cerreta and Executive Vice President Dave Ayers (New York) as well as Senior Vice President Pete Robinson (Nashville) all of whom have signed new five-year contracts, according to the announcement.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorTriller, the music-video creation app, has named a dozen top female music industry executives to a new advisory board.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLiz Phair, whose widely influential 1990s albums have been enjoying a revival in recent years, has signed a new deal with the relaunched Chrysalis Records and will release her first album in a decade next year, the company announced Wednesday.Phair’s albums, particularly her 1993 debut “Exile in Guyville” and the follow-up “Whip-Smart,” have influenced two generations of young female singer-songwriters.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorOn Sept. 13, Carl Cox, Pete Tong and Roger Sanchez are just three of the legendary DJs who will take part in “For Beirut,” a 12-hour-long livestream event presented by Electronic Labor Day and Beatport ReConnect to raise funds to support Lebanon and its people in the wake of the August 4 explosion that killed more than 200 people and leveled a large area of the city.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWith the in-person awards ceremony canceled due to the pandemic, iHeartRadio unveiled its Music Award winners over the weekend.Winners include Billie Eilish for Female Artist of the Year and two other awards, Lizzo for Song of the Year (“Truth Hurts”), Jonas Brothers for Best Duo/Group of the Year, Taylor Swift for Album of the Year (“Lover”) and more. The 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards also honored Elton John with the Tour of the Year Award.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Chappell Music announced today that it has entered into a global publishing agreement with the legendary Quincy Jones. The administration deal covers Jones’s genre-crossing songwriting catalog, as well as all current and future material.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorCompared with the avalanche of recent weeks, the days leading up to Labor Day weekend were relatively slow for incoming new songs — which means we went through just 80 instead of 120! — providing a great opportunity to shine a light on some lesser-known artists.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorVeteran agent and former WME head of music Marc Geiger says the live-music business will rebound in a big way once the coronavirus pandemic recedes.In a conversation with Goldman Sachs’ music specialist Lisa Yang at the International Festival Forum in London on Wednesday, Geiger said the “claustrophobia economy” of the pandemic will be replaced by “a second Roaring ‘20s, a hundred years later,” of economic growth, according to IQ.He was referencing the giddy

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorIn an effort to rally support for the countless music venues impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of buildings across the U.S. — from New York’s Empire State Building to Seattle’s Space Needle — were illuminated in red light on Tuesday evening (Sept.