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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Kristin Robinson |Ed Christman |Bill Donahue |Marc Schneider
Last month, Billboard was invited to the Spotify offices in Downtown Los Angeles to meet its top editors and curators and get an inside look at how Spotify’s playlists come together, genre-by-genre. And leading that team is Sulinna Ong, global head of editorial at Spotify. Over time, Ong has held a variety of roles at companies like Live Nation, Sony BMG Music and French streaming service Deezer, before joining Spotify in 2019.
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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Ed Christman |Bill Donahue |Marc Schneider |Kevin Rutherford
GoldState Music has raised $500 million in financing, the private investment firm announced on Thursday. Although specific details of the funding breakdown were not disclosed, the capital infusion consists of both equity and debt, and is described in a press release as a “structured capital facility… as well as separately raised leverage,” with Northleaf Capital Partners and Ares Management leading the deal.
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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Bill Donahue |Marc Schneider |Kevin Rutherford |Paul Grein
Attorneys for Megan Thee Stallion say Tory Lanez must be held in contempt of court over “disruptive” and “inflammatory” behavior during a recent deposition in a civil lawsuit that they say “made a mockery of the proceedings.” In a motion filed Wednesday, lawyers for the rapper (Megan Pete) say Lanez (Daystar Peterson) – currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for shooting Megan in 2020 – behaved so poorly during the jail-house deposition that it had to be cancelled shortly after it...
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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Marc Schneider |Kevin Rutherford |Paul Grein |Bill Donahue
Time to squeeze in another Publishing Briefs, our semimonthly bulletin of recent signings, deals and doings in the wide world of music publishing. Since the last time we rapped, EMPIRE Publishing hired !llmind as a senior vp of A&R and elevated Al “Butter” McLean to the role of executive vp of global creative, plus Billboard‘s Kristin Robinson made sense of the Copyright Office’s inquiry into the U.S. PRO system with this explainer. Caught up?
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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Michael Saponara |Chris Eggertsen |Bill Donahue |Marc Schneider
Tay-K (real name Taymor McIntyre) was sentenced to 80 years in prison on Tuesday (April 15) for the 2017 murder of photographer Mark Anthony Saldivar, per multiple local news outlets in San Antonio. “I do realize that while this is a lot of time, you’re still alive. You can still better yourself,” Judge Stephanie Boyd told him during sentencing, according to local CBS affiliate KENS5.
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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Bill Donahue |Marc Schneider |Jessica Lynch |Tyler Jenke
With his sex trafficking and racketeering trial looming next month, Sean “Diddy” Combs has beefed up his trial team by hiring Brian Steel – the veteran Atlanta defense attorney who won Young Thug’s release from prison last year. In a motion filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, Steel requested to be admitted as one of Combs’ lawyers ahead of the upcoming trial, which is currently set to go to jury selection on May 5.
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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Jessica Nicholson |Chris Eggertsen |Paul Grein |Marc Schneider
Opry Entertainment Group (OEG) has named Tim Jorgensen as vp of operations on its Austin team. In the new role, Jorgensen will lead OEG’s Block 21 businesses in the city, including ACL Live, 3TEN and W Austin. In addition to leading strategic direction for the Block 21 complex, he will oversee day-to-day operations at ACL Live and 3TEN. Jorgensen will report directly to Gary Scott, COO at Opry Entertainment Group.
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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Paul Grein |Marc Schneider |Kristin Robinson |Tyler Jenke
Singer, actor, and mental health advocate Demi Lovato is set to perform at Caron Treatment Centers’ 31st annual New York Gala, which is set to take place April 21 at Cipriani 42nd Street. The event will benefit Caron’s Recovery for Life mission, increasing access to addiction and behavioral healthcare treatment.
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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Marc Schneider |Kristin Robinson |Tyler Jenke |Glenn Peoples
Warner Music Group announced on Monday (April 14) that Armin Zerza will join the company as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective May 5, reporting to CEO Robert Kyncl. Zerza, who previously served as CFO of Activision Blizzard, brings extensive global financial, commercial and operational leadership experience. Bryan Castellani, the current executive vp and CFO, will serve until May 5 and then act as an advisor to ensure a smooth transition.
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1 week ago | 
billboard.com | Elias Leight |Dan Rys |Glenn Peoples |Marc Schneider
In early March, a new James Brown recording strutted onto a Billboard chart for the first time in more than three decades. But Brown, the incendiary funk pioneer who died in 2006, wasn’t going viral on TikTok or putting out albums of previously unreleased material. Instead, he had been sampled by the rapper 310babii, who credited the Godfather of Soul as a featured artist on the new track, titled “Bad.” When the single subsequently hit the Rhythmic Airplay chart, Brown came along for the ride.
