business
Ed Sheeran Must Face Trial Over Accusation That He Copied Marvin Gaye Song
A federal judge says Ed Sheeran must face a jury trial over whether he stole key pieces of his “Thinking Out Loud” from Marvin Gaye‘s iconic “Let’s Get It On,” rejecting the British singer-songwriter’s efforts to toss out the long-running copyright case. Sheeran’s attorneys argued that the lawsuit – filed by an entity that owns a partial stake in Gaye’s famous 1973 song – was invalid because the combination of simple elements the singer allegedly stole was not unique enough to be covered by a copyright in the first place. But in a ruling on Thursday, Judge Louis Stanton said there was “no bright-line rule” for deciding such questions and that the pop star would need to make his arguments before a jury of his peers. The decision sets the stage for a blockbuster trial at a Manhattan federal ...
The Deals: Channel Tres Signs With RCA; AmazeVR Raises $17M
Producer and signer Channel Tres signed with RCA Records in partnership with Godmode. The label, which just put out Tres’ new single “No Limit,” will release his album Real Cultural Shit this fall. The “Compton house” singer is currently touring North America. VR concert platform AmazeVR, which recently produced Megan Thee Stallion‘s VR concert tour, raised $17 million in new investments, with an opportunity for additional investors to join the current fundraising round. Including the $15 million bridge round the company raised in 2021, AmazeVR’s current Series B raise stands at $32 million. The company plans to use the new funds to expand partnerships with artists, artist management companies, labels, publishers and agencies, along with hiring more AI engineers, Unreal Engine engineers an...
Phil Collins Catalog Sale Deal in the Works Now Includes Genesis Rights Too
A package of Genesis, Phil Collins and possibly Mike + the Mechanics music assets are said to be in the final deal stages, according to sources, but the name of the potential buyer is not yet known to Billboard. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Previously, Billboard reported that a package of Collins’ rights had been shopped for upwards of $200 million, according to sources. That package, sources says, has now morphed into a bigger deal that also includes all of the publishing for Genesis and possibly even Mike + the Mechanics, as well as their master recordings rights. Specifically, sources say the deal encompasses the artist’s share of the master recordings and publishing. In the case of Collins, that means a combination of artist royalties fo...
Pantera plans to raise $1.25B for second blockchain fund: Report
Dan Morehead, founder and CEO of Pantera Capital, reportedly said the hedge fund was planning to raise $1.25 billion for a second blockchain fund. According to a Sept. 28 Bloomberg report, Morehead said Pantera aimed to close the blockchain fund by May. The fund will reportedly invest in digital tokens and equity in an effort to appeal to institutional investors. “We want to provide liquidity for people that are kind of giving up because we’re still very bullish for the next 10 or 20 years,” said the Pantera CEO, according to the report. Pantera Capital is seeking $1.25 billion for its second blockchain fund, founder Dan Morehead says https://t.co/H5AXy55hqa — Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) September 28, 2022 Launched in 2013, Pantera was one of the first crypto funds in the United States at a...
Brett Harrison will step down as FTX US president, move into advisory role
The president of cryptocurrency exchange FTX US, Brett Harrison, has announced he will be transitioning into an advisory role in the next few months. In a Sept. 27 announcement on Twitter, Harrison said he will be resigning his position as FTX US president but will remain with the exchange “with the goal of removing technological barriers to full participation in and maturation of global crypto markets, both centralized and decentralized.” Harrison has worked as FTX US president since May 2021, following a job at Citadel Securities. “I can’t wait to share more about what I’m doing next,” said Harrison. “Until then, I’ll be assisting Sam [Bankman-Fried] and the team with this transition to ensure FTX ends the year with all its characteristic momentum.” 1/ An announcement: I’m stepping down ...
NFT Artist Diana Sinclair Signs With UTA Ahead of Christie’s Auction
Diana Sinclair, a leading visual artist in the Web3 space, has signed with UTA and is set to auction off nine of her NFTs at Christie’s beginning this week. Sinclair, 18, was recognized by Fortune as one of the top 50 most influential people in the NFT space alongside artists like Beeple. Her work focuses on themes like self-identity and social justice, and she is the curator behind Digital Diaspora, a Juneteenth exhibition that highlights the work of Black artists and creatives in the NFT community. Last year, Sinclair also collaborated with estate of Whitney Houston to create a digital video that comprised rare archival photos of the late singer that sold for roughly $1 million. And beginning on Wednesday, the artist will debut an NFT col...
Does Rihanna’s Super Bowl Halftime Performance Mean a Tour Is Coming?
The last time Rihanna fans could buy tickets to see her in concert was 2016 when she hadn’t even launched her lingerie brand Savage X Fenty that catapulted her to billionaire status and Travis Scott was still a support act. Now, more than six years later, RiRi’s set to return to the stage on Feb. 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium outside Phoenix for the Super Bowl LVII halftime show — and possibly kicking off more performances to follow. With more than 100 million viewers tuning into the halftime show and its reputation for world-class artistry and production, Rihanna’s next gig is easily the biggest platform available for superstar artists looking to announce mega world tours and sell millions of tickets. In 2012, Madonna was the first modern act to use `a Super Bowl performanc...
White Supremacist Acts Are ‘Prevalent’ on Spotify, But the Streamer Says It’s Working On It
Spotify is vowing to remove racist, anti-semitic and other hate content from its platform following a new report that says music from a number of white supremacist acts is “prevalent” on the streaming service. The report, published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Thursday (Sept. 22), found a total of 40 white supremacist acts hosted on Spotify, violating the platform’s rules against “dangerous content.” According to the report, “extremist” musical sub-genres encompassed by these artists include Fashwave, electronic music that espouses white supremacist ideology; Rock Against Communism, a sub-genre of punk that promotes racism and antisemitism; and National Socialist Black Metal (NBSM), a sub-genre of metal that espouses fascism and white supremacy. The ADL noted that several of thes...
Former Roblox Head of Music Jonathan Vlassopulos Joins Napster as CEO
Former Roblox vp and global head of music Jonathan Vlassopulos has joined Napster as CEO, the company announced Sunday (Sept. 25). Vlassopulos, who departed Roblox in April after three years, became known for shaping the company’s cutting-edge virtual concert strategy in the early days of the pandemic, with the platform hosting blockbuster virtual shows for artists including Lil Nas X, Tai Verdes, Twenty One Pilots and 24KGoldn. He also navigated Roblox through a rough patch after the company was sued by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) for copyright infringement in June 2021. The two parties settled the $200 million lawsuit three months later and launched talks for go-forward licensing deals. Vlassopulos joins Napster four months after the company — which began in 1999 as...
Warner Music Group Discloses Compensation for Incoming CEO Robert Kyncl
Warner Music Group’s newly named CEO Robert Kyncl will earn roughly $15 million, depending on meeting performance targets, in his first year on the job, according to a company SEC filing. Kyncl will share chief executive duties with outgoing CEO Stephen Cooper in January 2023 and will become sole CEO on Feb. 1, the SEC filing shows. Kyncl, named as Cooper’s replacement on Sept. 21, will also become a director of the company. Kyncl, formerly the chief business officer at YouTube and an executive at Netflix, will receive a base salary of $2 million, a target performance-based bonus of $3 million and an annual grant of performance share units with an aggregate, pre-tax value of $10 million (the first grant will be in January 2023). He will be reimbursed for expenses up to $500,000 for relocat...
Blockchain infrastructure firm Chain will sponsor New England Patriots football team
Chain, a blockchain infrastructure firm that offers developers Web3 services to build and maintain blockchain-based applications, will sponsor the New England Patriots football team as well as other venues and sporting clubs controlled by the Kraft Group. In a Thursday announcement, Chain said it will be the official blockchain and Web3 sponsor of the Patriots, the New England Revolution soccer club, Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts and the shopping center Patriot Place as part of a multi-year partnership deal with Kraft Sports + Entertainment, the marketing and events division of the Kraft Group. Chain will work to develop Web3 experiences for visitors to Gillette Stadium and Patriot Place by “merging the physical with the digital.” Speaking to Cointelegraph, a Chain spokesperson decline...
B. Riley may purchase up to $100M stake in Bitcoin miner Iris Energy
Australia-based crypto mining firm Iris Energy has signed a deal with B. Riley giving the capital market company the option to purchase up to 25 million of its shares. According to a Friday filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Iris Energy inked an agreement with B. Riley Principal Capital II related to the “potential offer and sale” of up to 25 million of the Bitcoin (BTC) mining firm’s ordinary shares, worth $100 million. The filing states B. Riley has a 24-month timeframe to complete the purchase starting “as soon as practicable” after the effective date of the registration statement. Because Iris Energy qualifies as a “foreign private issuer” under U.S. securities laws, the firm said it intended to follow “most Nasdaq corporate governance listing standards” ...
