Celebrity Life
Live Nation Buys Veeps, Joel and Benji Madden’s Livestreaming Company
Good Charlotte's Joel Madden, who co-founded Veeps in 2017, says the livestreaming company explored deals with several firms in the venture-capital and tech realms
The Biggest Label in the World Invests in Cartoon Creatures, Soccer Balls, and Sweat
Universal Music Group is starting 2021 with a branding boom, calling on Katy Perry and Liam Payne to help announce partnerships with Pokémon, FIFA, and Equinox
Bandcamp Will Make Vinyl Records For You
Bandcamp's new program opens up a vinyl pressing service to 10,000 indie artists, offering musicians a path into the physical format that is defying the trends of the streaming era
Mick Fleetwood Sells His Recorded Music Rights to BMG
Fleetwood is the third member of Fleetwood Mac to sell catalog rights, following Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. BMG's head of acquisitions tells Rolling Stone the viral resurgence of "Dreams" factored into the deal
More Songs Are Going Platinum Than Ever Before
According to new data from the RIAA, 53 artists earned first-time gold or platinum awards in 2020, including Doja Cat and Arizona Zervas
Shakira Sells Her Music Catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Fund
Merck Mercuriadis's investment firm bought Shakira's publishing rights for her entire 145-song catalog, which include hits such as "Hips Don't Lie," "Whenever, Wherever," "She Wolf," and "Waka Waka"
Just One of 2020’s Top Songs Came From a Solo Songwriter
And only 4% of Top 50 songs from the last 10 years have been written by a single writer, according to our review of data from the last decade
OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder Sells His Music Catalog to KKR
“The music industry is undergoing an incredible period of transformation,” Tedder said of his deal to KKR, the investor behind companies like Gibson and ByteDance
Dan Wilson, Adele and Semisonic Songwriter, Sells His Entire Music Catalog
The deal with Primary Wave includes big hits like Adele's "Someone Like You," The Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice," and Semisonic's "Closing Time"
Neil Young Sells Catalog Rights to Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis, who bought Young's publishing, promises fans that there will never be a "Burger of Gold" fast food commercial
Lindsey Buckingham Sells His Publishing Rights, Including Fleetwood Mac Hits
Merck Mercuriadis' London-based Hipgnosis has acquired Buckingham's song catalog, including 100% of writer and publisher share of Fleetwood Mac's hits
BMG Finds Financial Disparities in Black Artists’ Old Record Contracts
The music company's audit found that black artists from four of its labels had "significant disparities" in the royalty rates of their old record contracts, providing them with smaller payouts than non-black artists