business
Gibson Wins Jury Verdict Against Dean Over Guitar Shapes
A federal jury mostly sided with Gibson Brands on Friday (May 27) in a lawsuit that accused rival Dean Guitars of copying the shape of the company’s guitars like the Flying V, though the jurors awarded Gibson just $4,000 in damages. The verdict came after more than three years of litigation and two weeks of trial over whether Dean parent company Armadillo Enterprises infringed trademark-protected design elements of several Gibson guitars, including the Flying V, Explorer, ES, SG and the Dove Wing. In a key win for Gibson, the jurors rejected arguments by Dean that those designs had become so commonplace that they’re now “generic” and free for all to use. And with that finding, the jurors also said Dean had infringed those designs by selling look-alike guitars. But the jury also found that ...
Executive Turntable: Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus Launches VC Music Startup; S10 Promotes Four
Veeps founder & COO Sherry Saeedi, Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus and Lippman Entertainment partner Nick Lippman launched Verswire, a new venture capital music startup, with Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz serving as a strategic advisor. The company’s founding team also includes director of A&R and branding Myia Ingoldsby as well as numerous advisors and investors including Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman and tour manager Gus Brandt. Verswire is described as a development incubator for both emerging and established artists that tailors a custom investment for each, including “funding, resources, tools, mentoring, support from prominent music executives and an ecosystem to own and operate their businesses within while allowing them to keep majority ownership of their masters,” according to a pre...
Dua Lipa Hires Katy Perry & Jay-Z’s Lawyer to Handle ‘Levitating’ Lawsuits
Facing a pair of copyright lawsuits over her smash hit song “Levitating,” Dua Lipa has lawyered up – hiring the same attorney who won similar cases for Katy Perry, Jay-Z and Drake. Dua has retained Christine Lepera and her law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp to represent her in both lawsuits, court records show, including one filed in New York that claims she ripped off a 1979 disco track, and another in California that claims she stole material from a 2017 reggae song. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Lepera is a go-to defense attorney in such cases. In just the last two years, she has won rulings defeating such cases against Jay-Z – he was accused of illegally sampling a 1960s soul song on “Paper Chase” – and against Drake, who was sued f...
TikTok Is Testing Ground for New Singles — Why Labels Love It (and Some Artists & Writers Don’t)
Artists have previewed unreleased songs at live performances and with radio stations for decades, but thanks to the rise of TikTok and a handful of successful DIY social media campaigns — Lil Nas X’s heavily teased and memed efforts for “Old Town Road” on Twitter and Triller is an early example — the practice has become de rigueur for artists. And not everyone thinks it’s good business. What started as a low-cost method for unsigned talents to casually test audience reaction and build up streaming service pre-saves to their songs is now the norm for even household names hoping to break their next hit before committing to a release date on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The Billboard Hot 100 contains ample proof of the method’s success: SZA earned her first solo...
Live Nation Electronic Asia’s Label & Management Group Partners With Astralwerks, Capitol Records
Live Nation Electronic Asia (LNEA), Live Nation’s Asian electronic dance music division, has entered into a multi-year global licensing and distribution agreement for its recently launched Fabled Records label. The partnership with leading dance label Astralwerks and Capitol Records China is focused on supporting emerging Chinese electronic music and artists. Per the terms of this partnership, Astralwerks and Capitol Records China will work together on the global release and distribution of Fabled Records artists and projects, with such projects receiving access to Universal Music Group’s international divisions, with global marketing support in China helmed by Capitol Records China and Astralwerks in the rest of the world. UMG launched Astralwerks Asia in 2019 and Capitol Records China ea...
Sony Music Group Extends Program for Unrecouped Artists and Songwriters
More legacy artists and songwriters are going to be able to profit from the boom in streaming and other digital royalties after Sony Music Group expands its program for paying royalties to more artists with unrecouped royalty balances, chairman Rob Stringer announced Wednesday evening (May 25) during a presentation to Sony Corp. investors. With Artists Forward and Songwriters Forward, both launched in 2021, Sony Music decided to pay royalties to artists and songwriters who were signed before 2000 and haven’t received advance since. Sony Music didn’t wipe the slate clean by modifying contracts or adjusting the account balances. Instead, it would ignore the negative account balances of artists whose royalties earned over the previous two decades never caught up with their advance and expense...
Justin Timberlake Sells Song Catalog to Hipgnosis
Justin Timberlake is the latest artist to sell off his songs. The pop-star has sold his full catalog to Hipgnosis Song Management, the company announced Thursday (May 26). That includes Hot 100 chart-toppers “Sexyback,” “What Goes Around… Comes Around,” “My Love” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling.” Along with Timberlake’s share of ownership over his already classic song catalog, Hipgnosis now owns the multi-hyphenate talent’s entire writer and publisher’s share of public performance income (Timberlake is signed to ASCAP) and will handle worldwide administration of the compositions, subject to the remaining term of his Universal Music agreement, which expires in 2025. From Memphis, Tennessee, Timberlake has been one of the most recognizable voices in music since his time as a member of the popula...
Marilyn Manson Ex-Assistant’s Abuse Lawsuit Dismissed
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit against Marilyn Manson on Wednesday (May 25) filed by his former personal assistant. The documents, received by Billboard, cite the statute of limitations as the reason for dismissal, as the incidents occurred in 2010 and 2011. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, prohibiting plaintiff Ashley Walters from refiling the charges. Walters originally filed her lawsuit against Manson (real name Brian Warner) in May 2021, alleging sexual assault, sexual battery, sexual harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress, among other claims. She also named his label, Marilyn Manson Records Inc., as a co-defendant. Manson has since denied all c...
Ray Dalio acknowledges he holds Bitcoin in his portfolio, albeit a tiny portion
Billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio has recently had a change of heart on the flagship cryptocurrency The Bridgewater Associates founder previously showed scepticism on Bitcoin for its volatility, rooting for gold instead. His stance seems to have changed Hedge fund manager Ray Dalio has moved his tent’s posts closer to the Bitcoin camp, with his recent revelation coming months after a change of tune on Bitcoin. The billionaire investor, known for popularising risk parity, currency overlay and global inflation-indexed bond management, previously preached against Bitcoin and other crypto assets. He held that the leading crypto Bitcoin could be banned by governments should it evolve and emerge as a serious competitor to fiat currencies, therefore, preventing capital flow. Bitcoin ...
Balenciaga to support Bitcoin and Ether payments in select US stores
The French luxury giant’s approval of the digital assets not only addresses a gap in crypto payments but also caters to a growing young population of online users The crypto payments support comes at a time when the digital assets are experiencing extreme levels of volatility in the market Balenciaga is the latest name in the luxury fashion industry to offer support for crypto payments. The Paris-headquartered fashion powerhouse announced this week that it would allow its customers to settle payments in crypto in some of its stores in the United States. Two Balenciaga stores – Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and Madison Avenue in New York – have moved to implement the plan. Acceptance of crypto payment is a long-term strategy Despite several digital coins haemorrhaging up to half ...
Australia’s Music Biz Welcomes Fresh Start With New Prime Minister, Government
BRISBANE, Australia — The Australian Labor Party’s victory in the federal election has been welcomed by the nation’s music industry as a fresh start, and as “great news” for a community that felt abandoned by the previous leadership during the most treacherous months of the pandemic. Prime Minister elect Anthony Albanese was sworn in Monday (May 23) as Australia’s 31st prime minister at Government House in Canberra, the capital. Four senior frontbenchers were also officially sworn in. After nine years in opposition, the new PM got to work immediately. Later on Monday, he visited Japan for a meeting with the leaders of the Quad — the United States, India and Japan. The music industry is also keen to get down to work with the ALP, the major center-left political party, and Albanese, who, wit...
‘WTF With Marc Maron’ Podcast Inks Multi-Year Deal With Acast
Marc Maron has struck a three-year deal with Acast to host, monetize and distribute the comedian’s hit podcast, WTF With Marc Maron. As part of the deal, which begins on July 1, WTF will also offer bonus content, merchandise and live event offerings via Acast+, the podcast company’s subscription service. The back catalogue of WTF, currently available without ads on SiriusXM’s Stitcher Premium, will also be taken down and moved over to the open feed when the deal goes into effect, though a “small portion” will be paywalled on Acast+, according to Acast spokesperson Ryan Hatoum. New episodes of the show will continue to be released twice a week and will be available for free across all major podcast platforms, while advertisers will be able to pla...
