Sony Music: Celebs Rumors

Roger Whittaker, the gentle-voiced British easy-listening singer who had an unlikely pop hit in 1975 with the song “The Last Farewell,” died Sept. 13 in Toulouse, France, following a lengthy illness. He was 87.

Diddy has not only a boatload of legal issues but a ton of debt, too!

New York Dolls’ David Johansen, John Lyon and more.The lawsuit was in an effort to regain control of the artists’ masters, and has finally come to a settlement after years of closely-watched class-action litigation against major record labels over copyright law’s termination right.Announced in court papers last week, the agreement between the music label and the musicians will resolve a case which saw artists accuse Sony of unfairly rejecting their efforts to invoke termination – a federal law that’s supposed to let authors take back control of their works decades after they sold them away.Per Reuters, Johansen, Lyon and Paul Collins sued Sony Music back in 2019, accusing the label of barring their termination notices for their music and proceeding to sell it without permission. The case had ben on pause for settlement since 2021.The musicians based their claims off of a part of the Copyrights Act.

according to Billboard.The deal would also be the biggest ever for the work of a single musician, the BBC reported.Jackson, who died in 2009, remains immensely popular on music streaming services like Spotify, where he averages 40 million monthly listeners.Just two of his countless hits, “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” have each been played more than one billion times on Spotify alone, according to the BBC.The deal comes just as an upcoming biopic about Jackson’s life and career starring his nephew is set to hit the big screen next year.The deal also reportedly includes tracks by other artists that had been acquired by Jackson’s Mijac publishing group — including hit songs by Ray Charles, Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, the BBC reported.The Jackson deal is as big or bigger than the $1.2 billion deal sought by Queen, which includes royalties for streams and other uses like the Freddy Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” and theatrical productions, according to Billboard.Sony’s deal with Jackson’s estate does not include royalties from the Broadway play and other theatrical productions featuring his music, the outlet reported.Sony paid $100 million in 1991 to buy the first half of what became Sony/ATV— ATV being the catalog that Jackson purchased in 1985 that included the Beatles catalog, according to Billboard.

https://t.co/TNiwrKkPEJ pic.twitter.com/JnZ7IoUAOt— Council of Music Makers (@CounMusicMakers) November 20, 2023Frazer added: “The UK’s strengths and accomplishments in art and entertainment mean we are well placed to take advantage of developing technologies in this field. But creatives rightly have concerns – and proposals – about how their work is used by artificial intelligence now and in the future, and I want to hear them.”She continued: “As Culture Secretary I want to maximise the potential of our creative industries and grow them by £50 billion by 2030, creating one million new jobs.

Naman Ramachandran Sony Music and Music Women* Germany (MW*G), the nationwide umbrella music organization of all female-identifying and non-binary individuals, have revealed the 2023 winners of the Female* Producer Prize. The prize aims to support and promote the careers of emerging female-identifying producers from across the country. The winners include Mimski, who broke through via the Novembars competition and is currently working on her first album, which will be released on the RUNTLIFE Records label; Evîn, a German/Kurdish singer and producer in alternative R&B who combines elements from different genres like soul and hip-hop with her Kurdish roots; and Kota No Uta, who works mainly in jazz, soul and neo and has recently released a song, “Autumn Leaves.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Triller reached an agreement with Sony Music Entertainment to pay $4.57 million to settle the music label’s breach of agreement lawsuit against the TikTok-style video sharing app, according to a court fling. Triller has admitted liability in the dispute, according to the filing, submitted by Sony Music’s lawyers April 26 to the federal district court judge in the case. Reps for Triller did not respond to a request for comment Friday. A Sony Music spokesman declined to comment. “Prompt entry of judgment is needed to protect against any further dissipation of Triller’s assets or, worse still, a bankruptcy filing,” Sony Music said in the request for the court to rule on the consent agreement. “Triller is more than a year late on some of those contract payments and Sony Music should not have to wait longer to enforce a judgment to collect.”

Thania Garcia Puerto Rican singer-songwriter Ozuna is calling 2023 his year. With a new album on the way, the release of a live album today, and an arena tour kicking off this summer — there’s a lot to chat about. “There are a lot of challenges, a lot of newness coming my way this year,” Ozuna tells Variety over the phone. “But I like a good challenge — and I’m at a point in my career where I have the energy to really give it my all. There’s a lot of goals I want to cross off.” Time is of the essence for the chart-topper who will embark on a new tour that will kick off in May, and continue on through the end of the summer in Europe. He’ll make stops in arenas across cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas and Miami — including European stops in Barcelona, Madrid, Paris and more — before wrapping on Aug. 5 in Torrevieja, Spain (see full schedule below). Tickets will go on sale on March 3, with more details to be announced soon.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Sony Music Entertainment Middle East and Kuwait-based music studio and video production company Ghmza have forged a partnership to produce music and promote emerging pop artists from the Gulf Cooperation Council and across the Middle East. Under the deal, popular actor and Arabic pop singer Bader Al Shuaibi, and Kuwaiti singer, songwriter and television personality Bashar al-Shatti will be the first two artists to work with Sony Music in the Gulf region. A pioneer in the genre known as Khaleeji pop reinvention – the term Khaleeji refers to nationals of six states: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the U.A.E. and Oman – Bader Al Shuaibi has over one billion audio and video streams and three million social media followers, according to a Sony Music statement.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Sony Music Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Triller, seeking millions of dollars in damages after the video-sharing app allegedly stopped paying licensing fees in March 2022. According to the suit, filed Monday in New York federal court, Triller continued to allow Sony Music songs to be shared on the app even after the music company terminated their deal. “Despite extolling the importance and value of ‘innovative technology and intellectual property,’ and claiming to hope that its efforts to curb copyright infringement ‘will set a precedent for us and all content creators going forward that stealing is not going to be tolerated,’ Triller displays brazen contempt for the intellectual property rights of Sony Music, its artists, and others,” Sony Music said in the lawsuit.

Naman Ramachandran Sony Music and Music Women* Germany (MW*G), the nationwide umbrella organization of all music women and female-identifying and non-binary individuals, have revealed the winners of the Female* Producer Prize. The prize aims to support female producers in Germany who often lack visibility and support in the country. The winners include Novaa, producer, songwriter and Berlin based artist who produces her own tracks as well as for Keke, Fløre, Amanda Tenfjord and LEA; Jenny Gerdts, music producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist; and GOTOPO, Berlin-based Colombian-Venezuelan producer and artist.

Thania Garcia Although Harry Styles’ “As It Was” maintains its run atop the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart for the fifth week, it’s Kate Bush’s 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill” that’s the talk of the charts as it has re-entered the chart at No. 8. The revival of the track on the new fourth season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” became the launching pad for the song to outpace its 1985 No.

The Jimi Hendrix estate and Sony Music have filed legal papers with the courts in New York seeking a declaratory judgement that agreements reached with other members of the Jimi Hendrix Experience in the early 1970s are still in force. The move follows threats in the UK by the estates of those former Experience members – Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell – to sue for supposedly unpaid royalties.The agreements that the New York courts are being asked to confirm were signed by Redding and Mitchell in 1973 and 1974 respectively, and were the result of negotiations that occurred following Hendrix’s death in 1970.Under those agreements, Redding and Mitchell basically gave up any copyright or royalty claims in relation to recordings made by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in return for “significant monetary consideration”.

Run-DMC‘s ‘It’s Tricky’.With the creature’s return prophesied last month, ‘Tricky’ is an EDM rework of the Run-DMC classic, topped off with the irritating and infectious repetition of “ding ding” that the amphibian is known for, and that dominated the music sphere in the mid-00s.The Crazy Frog was originally marketed by the ringtone company Jamba! back in 2005, before famously beating Coldplay to Number One in the UK albums chart in May that year. Now, given the decline in ringtones, the frog has been reworked to appeal to a TikTok audience.Wolfgang Boss, president of A&R at Sony Music, said, “When we started Crazy Frog, there was no TikTok, it didn’t exist.“But right now TikTok is super important.

The frontman of Midnight Oil has spoken about the recent exposé on the toxic corporate culture at Sony Music Australia, his band having worked with the Australian division of the major since 1981. He said the band backed the current and former employees who have spoken out, while calling on Sony Music’s global HQ in New York to “take responsibility for their governance failures”.The toxic corporate culture that existed under former long-term Sony Music Australia chief Denis Handlin has been the subject of various media investigations in recent months, following his sudden axing from the top job in June.

K.J. Yossman Disgraced Sony Music Australia boss Denis Handlin has had his ‘Icon’ award revoked by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), it was reported today.Once the most powerful man in the Australian music industry, Handlin left the company abruptly in June following a number of allegations regarding his conduct and the “toxic” culture he had presided over.

David Bowie has agreed a new deal with Warner Music Group that will see the company overseeing his full back catalogue of albums.Warner Music previously held the worldwide rights to the music that was released by the late artist between 1968 and 1999 (up to his October 1999 album ‘hours…’) after they acquired the Parlophone Label Group in 2013.The new licensing agreement with Bowie’s estate now means that Warner also has the rights to the artist’s back catalogue of music between 2000 and 2016, the year of his death.The Bowie albums ‘Heathen’, ‘Reality’, ‘The Next Day’ and ‘★’ (AKA ‘Blackstar’) are among the works that will come into the Warner Music fold in 2023.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWarner Music Group will acquire the assets of 12Tone Music, the label founded by industry veteran Doug Morris after he stepped down as CEO of Sony Music, the companies announced Tuesday (July 20).Founded in 2018 and most recently distributed by Warner’s independent label and artists services arm ADA, 12Tone’s catalog and roster include artists such as Aftermath’s four-time Grammy winner Anderson .Paak, country legend Dolly Parton, the 88 Rising collective (featuring global superstar Joji among their roster), Centricity’s Christian music star Lauren Daigle’s “Look Up Child,” electronic producer/ artist Illenium, and others.

K.J. Yossman Sony Music Australia staff have spoken out about the company’s “nightmarish and toxic” culture following CEO Denis Handlin’s abrupt exit last week, with some even exploring legal action.Until last week, Handlin was Sony Music’s longest-serving employee, having been with the label for over 50 years.

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Naman Ramachandran Indian music giant Super Cassettes Industries, popularly known as “T-Series” after its label, has joined the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS), becoming the last music major in the country to do so.T-Series joins the existing IPRS members who include Sony Music Entertainment India, Saregama India, Universal Music Publishing, Times Music and Aditya Music.T-Series, also a leading film producer, operates a vast music library of 200,000 titles, including more than 50,000 music videos, and 15,000 hours of music across 15 Indian languages.The deal is significant for India’s best-known authors, composers, and music publishers who are among the 5,000 IPRS members as their works will now be legally licensed.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorMusic publishing veteran Richard Rowe has been named executive vice president of Hipgnosis Songs, effective immediately, founder Merck Mercuriadis announced.Rowe began his career at CBS Records in 1979 as a lawyer in its business affairs department before rising through the ranks to become president of Sony Music Publishing from 1991 to 2005. During his tenure the company merged with ATV Music Publishing, bringing the Beatles’ catalog into the company’s repertoire, as well as the acquisition of Acuff-Rose Music, which included the catalogs of Roy Orbison and the Everly Brothers.After leaving Sony ATV, Rowe co-founded Round Hill Music in 2010, where as vice chairman, he helped bring in Carlin Music, Eddie

Neon Hum Media, the Sony Music Entertainment-backed podcast company, is launching a training bootcamp for aspiring podcast editors from underrepresented groups.

Jill Goldsmith Co-Business EditorFacebook said Friday it will launching a new feature in partnership with top labels to bring official music videos to U.S. users, zeroing in on a space dominated by YouTube.Partners including Sony Music, Universal Music, Warner Music, Merlin, BMG, Kobalt and indie labels and publishers will contribute content to a new destination for Music in Facebook Watch that users can explore by genre or artist, Tamara Hrivnak, VP of Music Business Development and Partnerships, Facebook wrote in a blog post announcing the move.“Artist/Fan connection on Facebook is deeper and more authentic because of tools like Stories, Live, and custom AR effects.

Simon Cowell is to take full control of “Got Talent” and “The X Factor” producer Syco Entertainment after agreeing to buy out Sony Music Entertainment’s stake in the joint venture.Cowell is personally buying out the stake and the move will give him sole ownership of the entertainment company. It is the result of a buyback option maintained by Cowell through their joint-venture renewals and a mutual negotiation process.Sony Music will retain the JV’s music assets, including its roster of current artists and back catalog.In 2005, Sony Music Entertainment purchased Cowell’s share of Syco Music and Syco Television.

With production grinding to a halt in the face of the novel coronavirus, the entertainment industry has found itself navigating uncharted territory. To offer a better sense for how, The Hollywood Reporter is running a regular series that focuses on how Hollywood's writers, actors, directors, executives and others are living and working in these challenging times.

LONDON — Major record companies and publishers are facing increasing pressure to do more to support musicians and songwriters who have seen their livelihoods wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

Bad Bunny’s album YHLQMDLG debuted on the March 14-dated Billboard 200 at No. 2 with nearly 179,000 album consumption units for the week ending March 5, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, making it the highest-placing Spanish-language album in the chart's history. The album’s unprecedented success shows the U.S. market’s gr

The Music Business Association (Music Biz) today announced that it will present its 2020 Presidential Award for Outstanding Executive Achievement to Julie Swidler, Executive Vice President of Business Affairs and General Counsel for Sony Music Entertainment, in recognition of her accomplished industry leadership and many contributions to the success of the music business over the course of her career. Swidler will receive her award during the annual Music Biz Awards Dinner, taking place Wednesday, May 13 at the JW Marriott Nashville as part of the Music Biz 2020 Conference.

Artists from all corners of the music industry are calling on labels, streaming services and other corporate entities to contribute to the cause of racial justice.