1. Dave Lombardi Appointed VP of Promotion for Caroline, CMG's Independent Services Division

    August 13, 2013 5:11 PM EDT Dave Lombardi has been ptomoted to VP of promotion for Caroline, the independent services division of Capitol Music Group. In his new position, Lombardi will be responsible for Caroline's promotion department, which includes conceiving and ...

  2. Gloria Trevi Re-Ups Publishing Contract with peermusic

    August 12, 2013 12:21 PM EDT Mexican pop/rock artist Gloria Trevi has extended her multi-album music publishing contract with independent music publisher peermusic.   Trevi first joined peermusic as a songwriter in 2007 and went on to compose hits such as "Psicofonia,& ...

  3. Sony/ATV's Extreme Music and Hans Zimmer Form Joint Venture: The Bleeding Fingers Custom Music Shop (Exclusive)

    August 12, 2013 9:00 AM EDT Sony/ATV Music Publishing’s production music arm Extreme Music has partnered with composer Hans Zimmer and his business partner Steve Kofsky to create the joint-venture Bleeding Fingers Custom Music Shop.   The Bleeding Fingers Custom Music Sho ...

  4. Imagem Music U.K. Sign Cathy Dennis to Global Deal

    August 09, 2013 2:23 AM EDT Hitmaking British songwriter Cathy Dennis has signed a worldwide, multi-year publishing deal with Imagem Music U.K. Dennis has played a huge part in contemporary pop culture over the past 15 years, and is recognized as one of the most successful ...

  5. National Music Publishers Association Files Copyright Infringement Suit Against Fullscreen

    August 06, 2013 1:00 AM EDT The National Music Publishers Association. has filed a copyright infringement suit against Fullscreen Inc., a multi-channel network (MCN) operating on YouTube and largely comprised of independent artists playing cover songs allegedly without pro ...

  6. Sony Returns To Quarterly Profit

    August 01, 2013 7:09 AM EDT As a slew of big-name Japanese companies report improved quarterly earnings, one theme is taking the sheen off their rosy numbers: mainstay businesses are still struggling despite the perk from a weaker yen. The latest example came Thursday from ...

  7. Kobalt Signs Global Admin Deal For Frank Zappa’s Catalog

    August 01, 2013 7:00 AM EDT Kobalt Music Group has forged a worldwide deal to administer the catalog of the late alternative rock legend Frank Zappa. With immediate effect, Kobalt begins global representation of all Zappa’s songs, including his early works with the Mothers ...

  8. Ex-EMI Exec Teams With Dutch Indie Imagem for Film & TV Publishing Venture

    July 30, 2013 12:39 PM EDT Former EMI Music publishing executive Jonathan Channon is teaming with Dutch giant Imagem to launch a joint TV and Film venture Imagem FTV. The newly-created division of Imagem, which reps publishing rights for such songwriters as Elvis Presley, ...

  9. Biz Stock Ticks: This Week's Entertainment Indices

    July 26, 2013 8:51 PM EDT Biz Stock Ticks looks at publicly traded entertainment stock prices over the last week by Apple, Best Buy, Facebook, Google, Live Nation, Pandora, Sony, Sirius, TransWorld and Sony -- many of which this week reacted to the quarterly earnings re ...

  10. Rep. Mel Watt To Introduce Broadcast Radio Performance Rights Bill To Compensate Labels, Artists For Airplay

    July 26, 2013 2:39 PM EDT Rep. Mel Watt plans to introduce legislation that will establish a performance right that would compensate record labels and artists for airplay on broadcast radio. Watt made the announcement on Thursday during the latest hearing on copyright is ...

  11. Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers Elects New President

    July 26, 2013 10:59 AM EDT The Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers, known as SGAE, has elected José Luis Acosta Salmerón as the organization's new president. The move to name a new leader comes only a few weeks after the troubled Madrid-based organization voted ...

  12. One Direction's 'Best Song Ever' Heading for Top Five on Billboard Hot 100

    July 25, 2013 5:36 PM EDT One Direction's new single "Best Song Ever" is red-hot and heading for a huge debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart next week.   Released on Monday (July 22), the cut is on course for a top five start on the chart -- based on earl ...

  13. Pink Floyd Make a ‘Big Change,’ Pact with Imagem Music U.K.

    July 25, 2013 5:37 AM EDT Pink Floyd have partnered with Imagem Music U.K. for their publishing. Through the deal, announced today, Pink Floyd Music Publishers has struck a deal that will see Imagem Music U.K. administer the songs of David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Richard ...

  14. Gavin DeGraw Signs Global Administration Deal With Kobalt

    July 24, 2013 7:00 AM EDT Kobalt Music Group has inked an exclusive, worldwide administration deal with singer and songwriter Gavin DeGraw. Through the arrangement, announced today, Kobalt will represent DeGraw’s new works, including his upcoming new album and new single ...

  15. Prince Royce Wins Big at 10th Annual Premios Juventud Awards

    July 19, 2013 3:10 PM EDT Urban bachata star Prince Royce was the big winner of fan awards Premios Juventud, which aired live July 18 on the Univision network. Royce took home five awards, including "Red Hot Artist," "Catchiest Tune," "My Favorit ...

  16. BMG Signs Backstreet Boys for Publishing, Recordings

    July 19, 2013 6:25 AM EDT The Backstreet Boys celebrate their 20th anniversary this year, and to mark the milestone, will release their eighth album, "In A World Like This," through BMG on July 30. The group was previously signed to Jive Records. The title trac ...

  17. Business Matters: Muve Music Has Nearly 1.7 Million Subscribers, But is Spotify Bigger?

    July 18, 2013 7:47 PM EDT The most widespread music subscription service in the United States is not actually the biggest subscription service.   Muve Music has "nearly 1.7 million subscribers," a company spokesperson tells Billboard. That most likely makes it ...

  18. TuneCore Announces New Partnerships with Gracenote and Shazam

    July 17, 2013 7:31 PM EDT Digital music distribution service TuneCore today announced a partnership with Gracenote and Shazam. Artists that use TuneCore will now be able to add their music to the metadata database Gracenote and music identification service Shazam, which ...

  19. Timbaland, Ole Sign Co-Venture Publishing Deal

    July 17, 2013 7:09 PM EDT ole has entered into a music publishing co-venture deal with Timbaland, the writer, producer and artist, who has worked with such artists as Justin Timberlake, Jay-Z, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Usher, Eminem, Ludacris, Kenye West, No Doubt, the Bla ...

  20. Cash Money’s Bryan 'Birdman' Williams, Ronald 'Slim' Williams Named BMI Icons

    July 16, 2013 5:48 PM EDT Cash Money co-CEOs Bryan “Birdman” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams will be the 2013 recipients of the BMI Icon Award. The presentation will take place during BMI’s annual R&B/Hip-Hop Awards (formerly known as the BMI Urban Awards) on Au ...

  21. President of Spain's Author's and Publishers Society Ousted

    July 16, 2013 3:44 PM EDT Antón Reixa, the president of Spain’s Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (SGAE), had been removed from his post after just one year, following a vote by the troubled authors' and publishers’ society’s board of directors. Reixa, best k ...

  22. 'Walking Dead' Composer to Score 'SHIELD,' 'Black Sails'

    July 16, 2013 11:21 AM EDT Bear McCreary is having a good day. The music composer for AMC's "The Walking Dead" has landed two buzzy gigs: scoring the highly anticipated Joss Whedon series "Marvel's Agents of SHIELD" and Starz's "Bla ...

  23. Why Radiohead Producer Nigel Godrich Trashed Spotify's Business Model

    July 15, 2013 12:05 AM EDT In a series of Tweets on Sunday, famed producer Nigel Godrich ( @nigelgod ) called Spotify "bad for new music" and said three of his projects had been pulled from the ad-supported subscription service.  Godrich takes issue with the eco ...

  24. Atoms For Peace Pull Album From Spotify, Take To Twitter

    July 14, 2013 11:34 PM EDT If you want to listen to Atoms For Peace, you can’t anymore on Spotify. In a string of tweets today from Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke and producer Nigel Godrich, both members of the group Atoms For Peace, the two revealed that their album AMOK ...

  25. AT&T Buys Leap Wireless, Owner of Muve Music, For $1.19 Billion

    July 12, 2013 7:47 PM EDT AT&T just got itself into the music subscription business. The company announced Friday it has purchased Leap Wireless, owner of Cricket Wireless, for $1.19 billion in cash. Including debt, the deal is worth about $4 billion.   Leap Wirele ...

  26. Biz Stock Ticks: This Week's Entertainment Indices

    July 12, 2013 6:30 PM EDT In today’s . Biz Stock Ticks , a look at publicly traded entertainment stock prices over the last week by Apple, Best Buy, Facebook, Google, Live Nation, Pandora, Sony, Sirius, TransWorld and Sony over the last week. Below each 5-day stock graph ...

  27. Pharrell Williams' Résumé: The History of a Hardworking N.E.R.D.

    July 11, 2013 2:49 PM EDT It's incredible to think that Pharrell Williams, the artist and entrepreneur who recently turned 40, was once fired from three different McDonald's in Virginia Beach. It all in began in 1992. That year, Pharrell helped Teddy Riley writ ...

  28. Billboard Launches The Billboard Shop

    July 10, 2013 3:19 PM EDT Billboard today announced the launch of the Billboard Shop ( http://shop.billboard.com/ ), an online retail space offering a wide variety of Billboard products. Among the Billboard Shop's offerings are: A one-click way to purchase current ...

  29. SoundExchange Paid Out Record $149 Million in Q2

    July 10, 2013 10:17 AM EDT Signaling the strength of Internet and satellite radio, SoundExchange paid out a record $149 million to record labels and artists in the second quarter of 2013, 55% increase over the same period in 2012.   SoundExchange is the non-profit organi ...

  30. Nielsen SoundScan Mid-Year Report: Digital Album and Single Sales Slow

    July 03, 2013 7:50 PM EDT Digital tracks sales are on the decline and the trend is accelerating. For the year to date as of June 30, digital track sales have declined 2.3% to 682.2 million units from the 698 million units that tracks scanned in the first half of 2012, ...

  31. Pandora Cuts Direct Pub Deal With Universal Music Publishing (While Fighting Direct Pub Deals In Rate Court)

    July 02, 2013 9:19 PM EDT While Pandora is maneuvering to lower its music publishing rates, it has cut a short-term deal with Universal Music Publishing Group that according to sources would represent the highest rate the Internet webcaster has ever paid to the music pub ...

  32. YouTube Confirms Vevo Deal

    July 02, 2013 8:22 PM EDT Google Inc.'s YouTube on Tuesday confirmed that it has a renewed its agreement with Vevo, a music video and content distributor owned by Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Abu Dhabi Media Group.  In addition to retaining ...

  33. Ole Acquires Sony Pictures Music Publishing Catalog

    July 02, 2013 1:59 PM EDT Ole, the Toronto-based music publisher, has acquired the music publishing catalog of Sony Pictures Entertainment for film and television releases between 1993 and 2012. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources say that the catalog, whi ...

  34. Business Matters: How Pandora Pays Less -- And More -- Than Radio

    July 01, 2013 6:55 PM EDT Terrestrial radio pays roughly 28% more to publishers per play, per listener than Pandora, according to Billboard estimates from numbers provided in blog posts by David Lowery and Jay Frank . But publishing is a small part of Pandora's roya ...

  35. From the Magazine: The New DIY -- Your Music Career in Your Hands

    July 01, 2013 2:00 PM EDT The following excerpts are from the "The New DIY: Your Career In Your Hands" cover package featured in the new issue of Billboard (July 7)  and inlcude Ed Chrstman's look at the changing marketplace for independent distributors; ...

  36. Christopher 'Tricky' Stewart Exits Epic A&R Helm

    June 28, 2013 9:14 PM EDT In an unexpected move, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart has exited his post as Epic Records’ president of A&R to concentrate on producing. The Grammy Award-winning songwriter/producer joined the label in that role in October 2011. There was no ...

  37. Business Matters: What iTunes Radio Will Actually Pay

    June 28, 2013 7:24 PM EDT A close look at the iTunes licensing agreement for indie labels shows iTunes Radio royalties have limited downside and strong upside. The minimum royalty calculation ensures labels will be paid a decent royalty until iTunes Radio becomes effe ...

  38. RED Distribution Signs [PIAS] Music Group for North American Distribution Deal

    June 27, 2013 5:13 PM EDT RED Distribution has signed the [PIAS] Music Group, a leading European independent label and distributor, to an exclusive distribution agreement covering both digital and physical product for North America. As part of the deal, in Canada, RED wi ...

  39. BMI Latin Promotes Joey Mercado in Puerto Rico, Adds Carolina Arenas in New York

    June 27, 2013 10:29 AM EDT Delia Orjuela, Vice President for Latin Writer/Publisher Relations today announced personnel changes at BMI Latin “to meet the growing demand for Latin repertoire." In Puerto Rico, 17-year BMI veteran Joey Mercado was promoted to Senior Dir ...

  40. Apple iTunes Radio's Licensing Agreements With Indie Labels Emerge

    June 26, 2013 10:08 PM EDT The licensing agreement between Apple and indie labels reveals further information about the planned iTunes Radio service.  According to a copy of the document obtained by Billboard, Apple will not have to pay for any content during the beta ...

  41. BMG CEO Hartwig Masuch on the Rolling Stones Deal (Q&A)

    June 26, 2013 11:12 AM EDT BMG  today announced  that the Germany-based rights management company will represent the Rolling Stones' post-1983 catalog and and will also track payments from the duo’s previous copyrights owned by ABKCO (1963-1971) and EMI Music Publis ...

  42. BMG To Represent Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' Post-1983 Publishing

    June 26, 2013 9:00 AM EDT *This story has been correction appended.   BMG today announced the rights management company will represent the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' post-1983 music publishing catalog. ABKCO, however, still owns the 1963- ...

  43. Billboard Bits: Robin Thicke Pacts with Universal Publishing, BMG Chrysalis Signs Ben Harper

    June 26, 2013 5:55 AM EDT Universal Publishing, Robin Thicke Renew Terms Universal Music Publishing Group has renewed its ex-North America publishing administration agreement with songwriter, producer and artist Robin Thicke, whose sixth studio album, "Blurred Lin ...

  44. Guest Post: Pink Floyd Pushes Back on Pandora's Royalty Rate Agenda

    June 25, 2013 6:06 PM EDT The following Op-Ed originally appeared this past Sunday (June 23) on the opinion pages of USA Today. Billboard.biz received permission to repost it here in its entirety, Billboard.biz welcomes comments below. Send all .Biz guest post submissio ...

  45. Backbeat: Billboard's Leila Cobo Is a No. 1 Selling Author!

    June 24, 2013 1:44 PM EDT Billboard’s Leila Cobo presented “Jenni Rivera: The Incredible Life of a Warrior Butterfly” ( Penguin ), at a book signing at Books & Books in Miami. It was the latest of several events where Cobo has promoted her top-selling biography of t ...

  46. Numero Group Joins Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar, Dead Oceans in Newly Formed ‘Secretly Label Group’ (Exclusive)

    June 24, 2013 1:30 PM EDT Numero Group, the Chicago-based independent re-issuer, has entered a partnership to join the Secretly Canadian family of labels, which includes Secretly Canadian, Jagjaguwar and Dead Oceans. The four labels will be collectively known as the S ...

  47. RIAA, NMPA Laud White House's New Intellectual Property Enforcement Plan

    June 20, 2013 3:39 PM EDT White House Encourages Greater Intellectual Property Enforcement   A report released Thursday by the office of the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) provides an update on the White House's efforts to address online p ...

  48. Jesús Ariel Barreras, Editora de Ideas, Luz Casal, Psy Win at SESAC Latina Music Awards

    June 20, 2013 2:05 AM EDT Mexican songwriter Jesús Ariel Barreras, Korean pop star Psy, Spanish diva Luz Casal and publishing house Editora de Ideas were the big winners at the SESAC Latina Music Awards, which took place June 19 at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Los Angeles. ...

  49. Business Matters: Pandora is not Walmart

    June 19, 2013 6:09 PM EDT A new paper disputes Pandora claims it pays too much in royalties. Written by Dr. Jeffrey Eisenach, "Understanding Webcasting Royalties" shines a light on Pandora's effort to lower its royalty costs. Eisenach is Managing Director ...

  50. Sean 'Diddy' Combs Pitches Music Cable Channel Revolt At Cannes

    June 19, 2013 4:15 PM EDT (This story originally appeared in Adweek) CANNES, France—After holding court Tuesday night on the Croisette with media and advertising moguls (and an afterparty or two), Sean "Diddy" Combs was all business today, taking the main sta ...

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