Music News

Photo Credit: CNN Diddy requests the video footage of him brutally beating Cassie Ventura to be excluded from evidence at his trial, claiming it has been manipulated. Sean “Diddy” Combs has requested the hotel video footage that showed him beating ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura be excluded from evidence at his trial. The disgraced music mogul and his team claim the footage, which was released by CNN in May last year, has been manipulated. “Mr. Combs seeks to exclude all available video files re

Photo Credit: Casandra Fine’s Instagram (Cassie) Cassie, star witness for the prosecution in the sex trafficking case against Diddy, started off the trial with a lurid account of their time together. Singer Cassie, who dated Sean “Diddy” Combs for roughly a decade, testified against the music mogul as the prosecution’s star witness in the federal sex trafficking case against him. The 38-year-old told jurors a harrowing account of her relationship with Combs, involving weekly drug-fueled sex pa

Photo Credit: Melissa Lee / Marine Corps Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ sex-trafficking case gets underway in about a month, but his defense team has asked for an adjournment. Instead, they want to see the May 12 starting date pushed back by two weeks. His lawyers argue the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the SDNY has not been fully sharing material such as emails from a former Combs employee. They allege that the prosecution’s witness ‘Victim-4’ seems to have “cherry picked messages” shared on WhatsApp. Outs

Chartmetric trending artist du jour, De La Soul Digital Music News is now expanding its longtime partnership with Chartmetric, the industry’s most respected music intelligence and data platform. Jumping in, DMN readers will soon have access to a constantly-updating track popularity ranking, complete with fast-emerging breakouts. Complementing the ranking will be Chartmetric’s latest data trend analyses, which will include a broad range of genres, artists, and broader worldwide music developmen

Diplo (real name Thomas Pentz), who’s inked a worldwide admin deal with Warner Chappell Music. Photo Credit: Maria Jose Govea Warner Chappell Music (WCM) has officially signed “visionary creative” Diplo to a global admin deal.   Warner Music’s publishing unit and 46-year-old Diplo formally announced that high-profile pact this morning. In the appropriate release, Warner Chappell took the opportunity to emphasize the Major Lazer member’s commercially prominent catalog, with a particular focus o

(l to r) Influence senior partner Rene McLean, co-managing partner Lynn Hazan, founder Lylette Pizarro, and DJ Khaled. Photo Credit: Influence Media Partners Three months after securing $360 million in debt financing, Influence Media Partners has taken a stake in DJ Khaled’s song rights and launched a pair of JVs with the New Orleans native. New York City-headquartered Influence Media opted to emphasize the joint ventures – and its “unconventional” efforts “to increase future brand value for

The DOJ and the FTC have officially launched a public inquiry in connection with a March executive order targeting ‘unfair practices in the live entertainment market.’ Photo Credit: ActionVance The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have officially launched an inquiry into “unfair and anticompetitive practices” in the live entertainment space. The DOJ and the FTC formally announced this public inquiry today, a month and change after President Trump signed an executive order ta

Photo Credit: Meta Meta introduces three Doja Cat avatars for purchase and use in its VR Horizon Worlds. These are the latest “Fantastical Avatars”—equippable avatars in Meta’s Horizon Worlds—and users can purchase each of the three Doja Cat looks for 750 Meta Credits each, or about $7.50. The avatars can be found in Horizon Worlds’ Music Valley. They’re the first Fantastical Avatars inspired by a musical artist, as Meta looks to hone in on some of what Fortnite is doing. The Doja Cat avatars

Photo Credit: BubbleTeaNeo / reddit The death toll for the Jet Set nightclub roof collapse in the Dominican Republic rose to 226 people over the weekend. Officials said they were able to rescue 189 people alive from the rubble, while 200 more were injured. 14 still remain hospitalized, four of those in critical condition. The roof of the night club collapsed during a merengue concert on April 8 during a live performance by Rubby Pérez. Rubby Pérez was tragically killed in the accident, as was

Photo Credit: Downtown / Audius Audius, the largest decentralized music community, discovery platform, and marketplace for artists and fans, signs a global deal with Downtown Music. The deal encompasses both the recording and publishing side of Downtown’s business, and paves the way for millions of licensed recordings from Downtown’s extensive catalog to be added to Audius. It also unlocks a new way for Downtown’s artists and labels to directly connect with their fans and control how their mus

Downtown Music Publishing Africa managing director Thando Makhunga. Photo Credit: Seventwo Creative Agency Another high-profile expansion in Africa – this time from Downtown, which has rebranded its Sheer Publishing Africa subsidiary as Downtown Music Publishing Africa (DMP Africa). Downtown reached out with word of South Africa-based Sheer’s new identity and broader operational scope. On the former front, the name change is said to be indicative of “a deeper alignment with the global vision

Drake has officially filed an amended ‘Not Like Us’ defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group. Photo Credit: musicisentropy Right on cue, Drake and his legal team have fired off an amended “Not Like Us” defamation lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG). The “Nokia” act and his counsel submitted the bolstered complaint yesterday, just a couple weeks removed from a major discovery win. As we noted closer to April’s beginning, the presiding judge had given Drake until the 16th to eit

A live performance from Ed Sheeran, whose legal team is urging the Supreme Court to reject a cert petition in a marathon ‘Thinking Out Loud’ copyright dispute. Photo Credit: Mark Kent Ed Sheeran is firing back against a Supreme Court cert petition in one of multiple “Thinking Out Loud” copyright suits. As the artist and his team see things, reversing the courts’ prior decisions could set the stage for a tidal wave of speculative infringement actions. Defendants including Sheeran just recently

Photo Credit: Ed Sheeran by Eva Rinaldi / CC by 2.0 Coachella makes a few last-minute lineup changes, securing Weezer and Ed Sheeran, as several artists cancel their sets. Ed Sheeran and Weezer have been added to the 2025 Coachella lineup ahead of the festival kicking off this weekend. Weezer will play the Mojave tent on Saturday, April 12, from 3:10-3:55, during the festival’s first weekend. Sheeran plays during the second weekend, during the 3-4 PM time slot on Saturday, April 19. Both acts

In today’s emerging artist spotlight, we introduce the incredibly talented artist, songwriter, and model Eden Hunter. Since the launch of her music career, she has been making significant waves. Especially so after being honoured as the 2022 Emerging Artist of the Year at Mighty Hoopla. Eden’s captivating lyrical pop has been winning over fans in droves. As her emotionally resonant songs connect on a universal level while showcasing a beautifully textured vocal quality that lays bare her vulnera

I am absolutely delighted to introduce the incredibly talented rising Australian pop star, Orlando Kallen, on the blog today! Born in Australia and enriched by his Greek, Egyptian, and Croatian roots. This diverse cultural heritage profoundly shapes his artistry, infusing his music with unparalleled depth and authenticity. As a true triple threat – singer, songwriter, and producer, Orlando is making waves and rapidly establishing himself as a force to be reckoned with in the music scene. His pow

A captivating alt-pop duo has caught my attention this week: the LA-based Haute & Freddy. They’ve skillfully generated excitement on TikTok, leading to sold-out shows in NYC, showcasing their distinctive theatrical charm. Their 18th-century-inspired aesthetic sets them apart visually, while their music transports listeners into a synth-pop dreamscape filled with infectious beats, ethereal vocals, and intriguing, esoteric themes. It’s no surprise that Haute & Freddy have made such a stron

Photo Credit: Eminem by EJ Hersom for DoD News / CC by 2.0 Eminem’s music publisher, Eight Mile Style, is suing Meta with allegations of widespread copyright infringement on Facebook and Instagram. Eight Mile Style, Eminem’s music publishing company, has filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging the tech company’s social media platforms allow widespread use of the rapper’s songs without proper licensing. The complaint, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, says Meta has “created and st

Photo Credit: AllHipHop An entire Kanye West album leaked onto the internet yesterday, prompting the rapper to respond. The announced album was once called WW3, but the rapper took to Twitter to say he renamed it to CUCK. Leakers say the benefit from the sale of the files went to the U.S. Holocaust Museum—with proof provided. The leak originated on Discord, a meassaging and community platform popular with gamers and music fans of specific artists. A folder containing the full CUCK album and ot

Photo Credit: Envato Creative marketplace Envato has launched a new AI-generated music tool for creators to make custom tracks from text prompts within seconds. But what’s the human cost for artists who rely on sync placement for their income? MusicGen leverages advanced AI models like Google Lyria 2 to deliver royalty-free, customizable music at no extra cost to Envato subscribers. The platform also expanded its partnership with PremiumBeat, adding over 40,000 studio-quality tracks and bringi

Photo Credit: Epic Games Epic Games asks the court to require Apple to accept Fortnite onto the US version of the App Store. The two companies have been locked in a years-long legal battle over the mobile giant’s App Store policies. Fortnite publisher Epic Games is further escalating its attempts to force Apple to allow its game onto the App Store. The game company submitted a new filing requesting Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to force Apple to accept “any compliant version of Fortnite onto th

The jury verdict in favor of Epic Games, which has prevailed in a marathon patent infringement lawsuit centering on the technology behind Fortnite concerts from Travis Scott and Ariana Grande. Photo Credit: Digital Music News Four years and one week-long trial later, Epic Games has triumphed in a patent infringement suit involving Fortnite concerts from Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, and others. The jury just recently sided with Epic, which a company called Utherverse Gaming sued back in June 2

Photo Credit: Song Sleuth Epidemic Sound acquires music recognition tech company Song Sleuth to help revolutionize music monetization in user generated content. The world’s leading soundtracking platform, Epidemic Sound, has announced the acquisition of Song Sleuth, the music recognition technology company specializing in identifying and monetizing music used in user-generated content (UGC). The deal marks the launch of Aentidote, a new service under the Epidemic Sound Group, designed to help

The European Commission is now reviewing the proposed Universal Music Group buyout of Downtown Music Holdings. Photo Credit: Guillaume Périgois Following ample competition-related criticism and a couple investigation referrals, the European Commission has moved “to examine” Universal Music Group’s proposed Downtown buyout. The EU executive arm just recently made the inquiry official, weeks after receiving the mentioned referrals from competition watchdogs in the Netherlands and Austria. As w

The European Commission headquarters in Brussels. Photo Credit: EmDee That’ll be $800 million, please. A couple investigations and one stroke of the pen later, the European Commission has fined Apple (€500 million) and Meta (€200 million) the better part of $1 billion. The European Union executive body announced as much in a formal release. As many know, both the mentioned companies (besides Google and other leading tech and social players) aren’t exactly strangers to aggressive regulatory scr