A coalition of music and entertainment organizations just told the Senate its federal ticketing bill has too many loopholes for scalpers and speculators to keep exploiting.
Fix the Tix coalition pressures the Senate
NIVA leads the push to toughen the TICKET Act significantly.
The letter targets the Senate Commerce Committee directly.
Over 20 signatories span the Recording Academy to SAG-AFTRA.
A companion House bill passed with bipartisan support last April.
Three big demands anchor the coalition's argument
Speculative ticketing needs a total ban without any exceptions.
Resale above original cost should be federally prohibited.
All resale fees must be capped at 10% under their proposal.
Full price-and-fee breakdowns should appear at...
A competing takeover bid just landed at Reservoir Media barely 24 hours after the first one, turning the indie music company into the prize of a full-blown bidding war.
Wesbild and Richmond Hill jump into the fight
Wesbild Inc. and Richmond Hill Investments proposed $10.50 per share.
That counter-bid arrived just one day after Irenic's offer surfaced.
Wesbild and Richmond Hill already control a combined 65% stake.
Reservoir's stock jumped over 8% on the Nasdaq after the news.
The board sets up a special committee to evaluate
Independent directors now handle the review of both proposals.
Reservoir explicitly offered no assurances about any deal closing.
Irenic's earlier bid ranged between $10.00 and $11.00 per share.
The company...
A transatlantic hip-hop pipeline just opened up between Idris Elba's London label and Nas' stateside operation, promising co-releases and cross-market content.
7Wallace and Mass Appeal lock in a partnership
Idris Elba's 7Wallace label teamed up with Mass Appeal Records.
Co-releases, cross-market distribution, and original content are planned.
The deal bridges UK and US hip-hop scenes directly.
Big release announcements are reportedly already in the works.
Slick Rick collaboration built the foundation
Last year's VICTORY album was a joint 7Wallace and Mass Appeal project.
A 30-minute companion film screened at Tribeca and SXSW.
Nas, Giggs, and Estelle all featured on that record.
Meji Alabi directed the visual component of the...
Six heavyweight music organizations just banded together in South Korea, declaring a full-blown state of emergency over generative AI's threat to creator rights.
K-Music coalition declares war on AI infringement
Six major South Korean music bodies formed a unified coalition.
HYBE, SM, JYP, YG, and the three global majors sit on KMCA's council.
The group literally calls this a declaration of war against AI.
Lee Si-ha chairs the committee after his KOMCA election.
Three core demands anchor the coalition's platform
Unauthorized AI training without creator consent must be banned.
Mandatory transparency in AI generation processes is required.
Clear standards separating human and AI-created works are demanded.
Lee frames the next two...
An activist investor already holding nearly 10% of Reservoir Media just lobbed a takeover bid valuing the indie music company at north of a billion dollars.
Irenic Capital floats a Reservoir Media buyout
Irenic Capital Management proposed $10 to $11 per share in cash.
That range values the Reservoir between $1.1 and $1.2 billion with debt.
Reservoir's board is currently evaluating the unsolicited offer.
Irenic holds roughly 9.2% of the company's equity already.
Family control creates a massive structural hurdle
Wesbild Inc. controls about 44% of Reservoir's total equity.
Reservoir CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi's father runs Wesbild directly.
Richmond Hill Investments sits on another 21% stake.
Any deal needs Wesbild's blessing to...
A new tagging system just dropped for the music supply chain, putting the burden on labels and distributors to flag AI-generated content before it hits Apple's platform.
Apple Music rolls out AI Transparency Tags
Apple Music launched disclosure labels for AI-made content.
Labels and distributors handle the tagging at delivery time.
Four categories cover artwork, tracks, compositions, and music videos.
Multiple tags can stack on a single piece of content.
Tagging stays voluntary for the moment
Tags are optional right now, but will become mandatory later.
Apple defers to content providers on what counts as AI-generated.
No visible enforcement or cross-verification mechanism exists yet.
Apple frames this as a foundational step toward...
A six-week trial just kicked off in Manhattan to determine whether the world's biggest live-entertainment company illegally strangled competition across ticketing and concert promotion.
DOJ says Live Nation broke the concert industry
Federal prosecutors opened the antitrust case on March 3.
Live Nation Entertainment faces monopolization allegations in court.
The 2010 merger with Ticketmaster could potentially get unwound.
State attorneys general piled onto the DOJ's original lawsuit.
The judge already trimmed the government's case
Claims about monopolizing national concert promotion got tossed.
Allegations of inflated fan ticket prices were also dismissed.
Three core claims survived for the jury to evaluate.
Ticketmaster's coercive...
A Grammy-nominated hitmaker just picked up an executive title at an AI music platform that swears it builds tools for musicians rather than replacing them outright.
Charlie Puth joins Moises as Chief Music Officer
Charlie Puth grabbed the Chief Music Officer role at Moises.
Puth says he has personally used the platform for years.
Moises claims over 70 million users across 33 languages.
Total venture funding sits at $52 million for the startup.
Moises pitches itself as anti-replacement AI
Moises builds practice and production tools, not song generators.
Everything trains on licensed content, per the company.
Puth will shape creative direction and artist-focused features.
CEO Geraldo Ramos frames AI as a brush, not autopilot.
Remix...
A three-decade climb through royalty tracking and digital licensing just earned a Nashville exec the senior VP title at one of music publishing's biggest players.
Riggs lands the SVP gig at Sony Music Publishing
Michael Riggs got bumped to SVP of Licensing and Income Tracking.
His Nashville-based role reports to Dale Esworthy directly.
Riggs oversees sync administration and global income tracking.
Nearly 30 years at SMP started as an income-tracking analyst.
SMP has been reshuffling its leadership ranks
Greg Prata stepped up to CFO after Tom Kelly's retirement announcement.
Roslyn Pineda grabbed the President of Asia role in February.
Dee Hale and Michael Young both scored SVP-level promotions.
Carol Ng exits at the end of March...
