K-Pop Star Sulli Commits Suicide at 25 — Just Two Years After Jonghyun’s Tragic Death

Earlier today (October 14th), South Korean pop star Sulli was found dead at the age of 25, with all signs pointing to a tragic suicide. Her manager discovered the body in the singer’s home outside Seoul; the K-pop star reportedly wasn’t answering…

APRA AMCOS Posts Record Performance Royalties — But Streaming Is Starting to Slow

APRA AMCOS, which is Australia and New Zealand’s performance rights organization, posted records earnings in their latest fiscal year, fueled in large part by streaming music. In the PRO’s annual report, the organization listed revenues of …

Dollywood Faces Massive Litigation Over Unauthorized Use of ‘Charlie Brown Christmas’

Christmas may be quickly approaching, but not everyone is in the holiday mood. The film production company that owns the rights to the “Charlie Brown Christmas” theme song is suing the Dollywood theme park in a federal court for copyright infringement….

Tekashi 6ix9ine Signs a $10+ Million Record Deal While Still In Prison

There’s an old adage: “crime doesn’t pay.” Just don’t tell that to rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, or he might just laugh in your face. While awaiting sentencing on firearms and racketeering charges, Tekashi 6ix9ine signed a new recording contract that will re…

Spotify’s Podcasting Land-Grab Continues — Exclusive Vice News Podcasts Added

HBO recently canceled its Vice News deal.  Spotify thinks there’s potential on the podcasting side, however. Vice Media has agreed to distribute three of its podcasts exclusively on Spotify, according to details shared with DMN.  As part of the p…

Tunecore, CD Baby Broker Massive Chinese Distribution Deals for DIY Artists

Tunecore and CD Baby have both signed deals with Tencent Music Entertainment Group, which is the largest music streaming service in China.  But Chinese distribution could be tricky for certain artists. Tunecore and CD Baby are among the largest DIY mus…

Lil Tecca Beats Post Malone’s All-Time SoundCloud Streaming Record

17-year-old rapper Lil Tecca has now surpassed Post Malone for the longest-charting No. 1 song on SoundCloud in the US.  So where’s the Bud Light deal? Tecca’s “Ransom” has been the No. 1 song on SoundCloud for 86 straight days in the U.S., passing Pos…

‘Post-Primary’ Ticketing Exchange Lyte Scores a $15 Million Round

Lyte, a ‘post-primary’ ticketing platform, has raised $15 million in Series A financing to fix the secondary market. If secondary ticketing is indeed broken, Lyte says they’re gonna fix it.  The ‘post-primary’ ticketing platform (guess secondary is a d…

A Nipsey Hussle Biography Is Officially In the Works

Rob Kenner, the founding editor of Vibe, will be writing a biography of slain rapper Nipsey Hussle. The ‘unauthorized’ biography will be entitled The Marathon Don’t Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle and is expected to be published by Atria Book…

Lil Peep’s Managers Face Legal Action Over the Rapper’s Tragic Overdose

Liza Womack, the mother of the late Lil Peep, has sued the rapper’s former managers in Los Angeles Superior Court. Womack is suing not only for the wrongful death of Lil Peep, but also for negligence and breach of contract. The rapper, whose real name …