Music News
Justin Bieber Teases 'Yummy' Remix With This Fellow Singer. Bieber season is heating up. On the heels of releasing episode 2 of his 10-part Seasons docuseries, JB teased plans for a "Yummy" remix teaming him with Summer Walker on Wednesday (Jan. 29). "Might have to drop this @IAMSUMMERWALKER #yummy remix next week," he wrote while hinting that the collab could arrive at the top of February. Earlier this week, the "Sorry" artist also released the second single from his R&Bieber Changes album with the Kehlani-assisted "Get Me." Bieber's fifth studio album is due on Valentine's Day (Feb. 14). The 25-year-old is slated to perform at the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 29, which will be hosted by Usher. (Billboard)
Alicia Keys Reveals How Kobe Bryant Grammys Tribute Came Together in 'Minutes'. Alicia Keys stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday (Jan. 29) to talk about how her Grammys tribute to Kobe Bryant came together at the last minute. "We were all freaking out because, obviously, hearing the news about Kobe and his daughter was so tragic, and none of us can still believe it right now to this day," Keys told host Ellen DeGeneres. "It definitely was a crazy feeling because literally minutes before, we were going to do something else and we had to really figure out, 'How could we properly honor him in his house?'...It just so happened Boyz II Men was there, already, that night and we wanted to do something special, create something that felt like it was the right thing and we pulled it together. And it was just beautiful, it was like that magic that happens when it's necessary." During the ceremony, the star and Boyz II Men performed an a capella rendition of the 1991 Motown hit "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" in honor of the late NBA legend. While on Ellen, the singer-songwriter also performed a stripped-down version of her latest single "Underdog," which will be featured on her upcoming eighth album, Alicia. The self-titled LP is slated for release on March 20 via RCA Records. (Billboard)
Loretta Lynn Says She Believes Country Music Is 'Dead': 'I Think It's a Shame to Let It Die'. "I think it's dead," the country legend said on Martina McBride's podcast. Loretta Lynn is not shying away from sharing her opinions about today's country music. During a recent interview on Martina McBride's podcast Vocal Point with Martina McBride, available on Luminary, the country legend pronounced the genre "dead," adding that "we should never let country music die." "They've already let it [die]," Lynn, 87, told McBride. "I think it's dead. I think it's a shame. I think it's a shame to let a type of music die. I don't care what any kind of music it is. Rock, country, whatever. I think it's a shame to let it die, and I'm here to start feeding it." When McBride, 53, noted that Lynn seemed "mad" about it, Lynn replied: "Yeah. I'm getting mad about it. I am. Because it's ridiculous." "I'm not happy at all," the "Coal Miner's Daughter" singer said. "I think that they're completely losing it. And I think that's a sad situation because we should never let country music die. I think that every type of music should be saved, and country is one of the greatest. It's been around, as far as I'm concerned, longer than any of it." Later in the podcast, Lynn answered McBride's question about what she is "the most- proud of" in her life. "My kids," the country singer responded. "I couldn't be more-proud of my kids. I love my kids so much. That's my whole life. My life is my kids, and then my music." Lynn has dealt with several health issues in recent years, including a May 2017 stroke followed by a January 2018 fall that broke her hip. The country star also shot down reports that she was on her deathbed last summer. Though she was forced her to leave her Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, ranch for a home closer to her doctors in Nashville, "I wasn't goin' to let it stop me," she told PEOPLE in 2018. "People thought I wouldn't come back from that," Lynn continued. "And they're really shocked when I tell them, 'Well, I'm doing good, I'm moving my arms, I'm moving all my parts and I can still sing.'" Last year, McBride was in attendance at Lynn's star-studded 87th birthday celebration. McBride, Garth Brooks and Miranda Lambert, among others, performed at the tribute concert, which also featured Keith Urban jumping out of a giant cake to surprise Lynn. (People)
Music Publishers Knock Out Peloton's Antitrust Countersuit. Peloton's claim that more than a dozen music publishers and their trade organization violated federal antitrust laws by shutting down licensing negotiations has been dismissed. More than a dozen music publishers don't have to sweat Peloton's claim that they engage in anticompetitive conduct as a New York federal judge on Wednesday dismissed the indoor cycling giant's counterclaim. The fight began in March 2019 when 15 music publishers sued Peloton for copyright infringement. While the company had negotiated licenses with some of the publishers for the music Peloton instructors play during their classes, not every publisher struck such a deal. Talks with the National Music Publishers Association to expand the licensing agreements to others fell apart, and the copyright infringement suit followed. Then Peloton responded with claims that the publishers and their trade association were seeking to extract supra-competitive license terms in violation of federal antitrust laws and that the NMPA interfered with its ability to negotiate with the publishers directly. U.S. District Judge Denies Cote's decision on Wednesday likely left the publishers singing a happy tune. Cote agreed with their argument that Peloton's antitrust claims failed because it didn't identify a relevant market -- even though she acknowledged the cycling company plausibly alleged the publishers conspired to deny it licenses to their works. "Peloton defines the relevant market as sync 'licenses to the copyrighted works controlled (in whole or in part) and collectively negotiated by the [Music] Publishers through NMPA,'" writes the judge. "Peloton does not explain why it cannot substitute songs with sync licenses owned by the Music Publishers for songs with sync licenses owned by other publishers. Indeed, as Peloton admits, it has successfully 'collaborated with music publishers to develop an innovative [sync] licensing framework that is appropriate for its business and reached agreements with all the "major" music publishers and many independent music publishers.'" Cote found that Peloton had plenty of opportunity to amend its relevant market and didn't, and allowing it to do so at this stage in litigation would cause unreasonable cost and delay. She also found that Peloton's tortious interference claim fails because the company didn't show that it would have entered into licensing agreements with the member publishers were it not for the NMPA's interference. "We respectfully disagree with this ruling regarding our counterclaims and are assessing our options for appeal," a Peloton spokesperson said in a statement. "We will continue to vigorously contest the plaintiff publishers' infringement claims, which were not addressed in this decision." Read the full opinion below. NMPA president David Israelite on Wednesday sent The Hollywood Reporter this statement in response to the decision: "Today's victory is a reminder that tech companies like Peloton cannot build businesses that are reliant on songwriters without asking their permission and paying them. Judge Cote has dismissed all of Peloton's counterclaims which were only meant to distract from their failure to license 2,468 songs. We are pleased that Peloton's attempts to divert attention from the heart of the issue -- properly paying creators for the music on which its billion-dollar business was built -- have been defeated." After amending their complaint, the music publisher plaintiffs now include Downtown Music Publishing, ole Media Management, Big Deal Music, Pulse Music Group, Peer International Corporation, PSO Limited, Peermusic, Peermusic III, Peertunes, Songs of Peer, Reservoir Media Management, the Richmond Organization, Round Hill Music, the Royalty Network, Ultra International Music Publishing, Tune Core, Raleigh Music Publishing, Me Gusta Music, STB Music and Greensleeves Publishing. (Hollywood Reporter)
Alicia Keys Reveals How Kobe Bryant Grammys Tribute Came Together in 'Minutes'. Alicia Keys stopped by The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Wednesday (Jan. 29) to talk about how her Grammys tribute to Kobe Bryant came together at the last minute. "We were all freaking out because, obviously, hearing the news about Kobe and his daughter was so tragic, and none of us can still believe it right now to this day," Keys told host Ellen DeGeneres. "It definitely was a crazy feeling because literally minutes before, we were going to do something else and we had to really figure out, 'How could we properly honor him in his house?'...It just so happened Boyz II Men was there, already, that night and we wanted to do something special, create something that felt like it was the right thing and we pulled it together. And it was just beautiful, it was like that magic that happens when it's necessary." During the ceremony, the star and Boyz II Men performed an a capella rendition of the 1991 Motown hit "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" in honor of the late NBA legend. While on Ellen, the singer-songwriter also performed a stripped-down version of her latest single "Underdog," which will be featured on her upcoming eighth album, Alicia. The self-titled LP is slated for release on March 20 via RCA Records. (Billboard)
Loretta Lynn Says She Believes Country Music Is 'Dead': 'I Think It's a Shame to Let It Die'. "I think it's dead," the country legend said on Martina McBride's podcast. Loretta Lynn is not shying away from sharing her opinions about today's country music. During a recent interview on Martina McBride's podcast Vocal Point with Martina McBride, available on Luminary, the country legend pronounced the genre "dead," adding that "we should never let country music die." "They've already let it [die]," Lynn, 87, told McBride. "I think it's dead. I think it's a shame. I think it's a shame to let a type of music die. I don't care what any kind of music it is. Rock, country, whatever. I think it's a shame to let it die, and I'm here to start feeding it." When McBride, 53, noted that Lynn seemed "mad" about it, Lynn replied: "Yeah. I'm getting mad about it. I am. Because it's ridiculous." "I'm not happy at all," the "Coal Miner's Daughter" singer said. "I think that they're completely losing it. And I think that's a sad situation because we should never let country music die. I think that every type of music should be saved, and country is one of the greatest. It's been around, as far as I'm concerned, longer than any of it." Later in the podcast, Lynn answered McBride's question about what she is "the most- proud of" in her life. "My kids," the country singer responded. "I couldn't be more-proud of my kids. I love my kids so much. That's my whole life. My life is my kids, and then my music." Lynn has dealt with several health issues in recent years, including a May 2017 stroke followed by a January 2018 fall that broke her hip. The country star also shot down reports that she was on her deathbed last summer. Though she was forced her to leave her Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, ranch for a home closer to her doctors in Nashville, "I wasn't goin' to let it stop me," she told PEOPLE in 2018. "People thought I wouldn't come back from that," Lynn continued. "And they're really shocked when I tell them, 'Well, I'm doing good, I'm moving my arms, I'm moving all my parts and I can still sing.'" Last year, McBride was in attendance at Lynn's star-studded 87th birthday celebration. McBride, Garth Brooks and Miranda Lambert, among others, performed at the tribute concert, which also featured Keith Urban jumping out of a giant cake to surprise Lynn. (People)
Music Publishers Knock Out Peloton's Antitrust Countersuit. Peloton's claim that more than a dozen music publishers and their trade organization violated federal antitrust laws by shutting down licensing negotiations has been dismissed. More than a dozen music publishers don't have to sweat Peloton's claim that they engage in anticompetitive conduct as a New York federal judge on Wednesday dismissed the indoor cycling giant's counterclaim. The fight began in March 2019 when 15 music publishers sued Peloton for copyright infringement. While the company had negotiated licenses with some of the publishers for the music Peloton instructors play during their classes, not every publisher struck such a deal. Talks with the National Music Publishers Association to expand the licensing agreements to others fell apart, and the copyright infringement suit followed. Then Peloton responded with claims that the publishers and their trade association were seeking to extract supra-competitive license terms in violation of federal antitrust laws and that the NMPA interfered with its ability to negotiate with the publishers directly. U.S. District Judge Denies Cote's decision on Wednesday likely left the publishers singing a happy tune. Cote agreed with their argument that Peloton's antitrust claims failed because it didn't identify a relevant market -- even though she acknowledged the cycling company plausibly alleged the publishers conspired to deny it licenses to their works. "Peloton defines the relevant market as sync 'licenses to the copyrighted works controlled (in whole or in part) and collectively negotiated by the [Music] Publishers through NMPA,'" writes the judge. "Peloton does not explain why it cannot substitute songs with sync licenses owned by the Music Publishers for songs with sync licenses owned by other publishers. Indeed, as Peloton admits, it has successfully 'collaborated with music publishers to develop an innovative [sync] licensing framework that is appropriate for its business and reached agreements with all the "major" music publishers and many independent music publishers.'" Cote found that Peloton had plenty of opportunity to amend its relevant market and didn't, and allowing it to do so at this stage in litigation would cause unreasonable cost and delay. She also found that Peloton's tortious interference claim fails because the company didn't show that it would have entered into licensing agreements with the member publishers were it not for the NMPA's interference. "We respectfully disagree with this ruling regarding our counterclaims and are assessing our options for appeal," a Peloton spokesperson said in a statement. "We will continue to vigorously contest the plaintiff publishers' infringement claims, which were not addressed in this decision." Read the full opinion below. NMPA president David Israelite on Wednesday sent The Hollywood Reporter this statement in response to the decision: "Today's victory is a reminder that tech companies like Peloton cannot build businesses that are reliant on songwriters without asking their permission and paying them. Judge Cote has dismissed all of Peloton's counterclaims which were only meant to distract from their failure to license 2,468 songs. We are pleased that Peloton's attempts to divert attention from the heart of the issue -- properly paying creators for the music on which its billion-dollar business was built -- have been defeated." After amending their complaint, the music publisher plaintiffs now include Downtown Music Publishing, ole Media Management, Big Deal Music, Pulse Music Group, Peer International Corporation, PSO Limited, Peermusic, Peermusic III, Peertunes, Songs of Peer, Reservoir Media Management, the Richmond Organization, Round Hill Music, the Royalty Network, Ultra International Music Publishing, Tune Core, Raleigh Music Publishing, Me Gusta Music, STB Music and Greensleeves Publishing. (Hollywood Reporter)
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