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On the eve of a hearing and vote for the Free Artists From Industry Restrictions (FAIR) Act before the California Assembly’s Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media, Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) has pulled the bill with plans to move it forward as two bifurcated bills.
“I’m happy with the progress we’ve made and I remain committed to ending outdated state laws that disadvantage musicians and actors,” Kalra said in a statement to Billboard. “I join the sponsors in supporting bifurcation of the policy in AB 2926 and look forward to continued negotiations with stakeholders and discussions with members.”
As it stands, the FAIR Act, also known as Assembly Bill 2926, would repeal a 1987 amendment to California’s “Seven-Year Statute” (a.k.a. California Labor Code Section 2855) that allows record labels to sue artists for damages if they leave after seven years but before delivering the required number of albums in their contract. The Seven-Year Statute, which limits personal services contracts for state residents to seven years, was enacted in 1944 following the judgment in actress Olivia de Havilland’s lawsuit against Warner Bros. Pictures.
Among its sponsors are the Music Artists Coalition, Black Music Action Coalition, California Labor Federation, Songwriters of North America and SAG-AFTRA, which represents approximately 160,000 actors, recording artists and other creatives.
The Recording Industry Assn. of America and the California Music Coalition, which represented the music labels, opposed the FAIR Act. Right until Kalra pulled the bill, both those for and opposed had actively been lobbying the members of the Arts committee via phone and in person in Sacramento.
The bill, introduced in its current form by Kalra in February, had passed through the Assembly’s Labor & Employment Committee on March 30 on a 4-2 vote. It was expected to have a tougher battle before the Arts committee. It’s built on a bill (AB 1385) introduced by former Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) in March 2021, but the bill was pulled when she left office to become head of the California Labor Federation.
AB 2926’s sponsors, including MAC, BMAC and SAG-AFTRA, said in a statement, “After many conversations with legislators and our label and studio counterparts, the artists and unions have agreed to bifurcate the two critical issues in AB 2926 (Kalra), the Fair Act. Although there are two issues, they both reflect an imbalance of power and equity, and one thing remains clear: they must be addressed. Recording artists must get reprise from one-sided, never-ending agreements, and actors must escape the exclusive holds that keep them from working when they want to work.
“The unions and artists will advocate passionately for these two vital bills,” the statement continues. “We look forward to continuing to educate the Assembly and the Senate about the need to address these pressing concerns. They are critical to the continued success of these industries in California. California succeeds when the artists and employers in our industries work together…. Solutions will only come if the dialogue is able to continue in earnest.”
The move runs counter to Kalra’s plan as stated during the March 30 hearing when he was asked by two members of the Labor committee about bifurcating the bill. “I would prefer not to [bifurcate it], because it really deals with the same issue when it comes down to it, which is creatives that are beholden to arcane rules that came about many decades ago,” he said.
Though the statement does not address when the bills will be reintroduced by Kalra, he could reintroduce them as Gut & Amend bills in June, where he takes out the language of a bill that has already passed through the Assembly and is now in the California Senate, and inserts the new separate bills. After passing through the Senate, the bills would then go back to the Assembly before the legislative session ends in August.
It is also possible that the bill’s backers and opponents will continue to negotiate on the bill to address the conflicting issues to see if they can reach common ground. A statement from the California Music Coalition suggested there is more work to be done in that area.
“As a music community, from artists and songwriters to labels and publishers and beyond, we share common goals. We succeed best when we work together towards those goals. The decision not to proceed is a positive step forward for everyone who values a thriving and united music community,” the CMC’s statement reads.
“This legislation would have badly damaged California’s music community – harming most working artists and especially diverse, new, and emerging voices. And it would deeply erode the jobs that form the foundation of California’s music economy all across the state. Because of these harms, this idea has been rejected multiple times by California’s legislature over the last two decades.” (An artist-led effort to repeal the music labels’ exemption in 2001 failed).
Just as the bill’s sponsors suggest an “earnest dialogue,” the CMC also suggests, “the music community should link arms to work together to find solutions that grow the music economy and create new opportunities for all.”
Snoop Dogg’s first course of action after purchasing the Death Row Records brand and catalog in February was seemingly pulling the whole catalog off streaming services — now he’s explained why.
In a new interview with REVOLT’s Drink Champs on Friday, Snoop said he removed Death Row’s music — including his 1993 debut Doggystyle and Dr. Dre’s seminal The Chronic — from traditional streaming services “because those platforms don’t pay.” Instead, the rapper claimed he’s planning to launch a standalone “Death Row app” that will host the label’s music.
“Those platforms get millions and millions and millions of streams and nobody gets paid other than the record labels,” said Snoop. “So what I wanted to do is snatch my music off, create a platform, which is something sort of similar to Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, there’ll be a Death Row app.” In the meantime, the rapper continued, Death Row music “will live in the metaverse” — reiterating a previous claim he made in February that the company would operate as “an NFT label.”
Snoop’s comments echo a common critique of the low royalty rates paid out by DSPs like Spotify and Apple Music (notably, the Death Row catalog is still available on Tidal). Later in the chat, he contextualized the move as part of a broader effort to put power back in the hands of artists.
“Nobody in here can tell you what a stream adds up to. It’s a fraction of a penny. It’s a third of a penny,” he said. “So you get 100 million streams and you don’t make a million dollars. So what the f— is that? But you want me to keep giving you my music but somebody’s making the money and it ain’t me. And I can’t afford to keep doing that. And I want to create an avenue to where I can show people how to not always have to go through the slave trade but create our own trade where we engaging with our own fans, that’s my own music that’s making money off of the music and then making us money off of the music by being traded and sold.”
To illustrate the potentially lucrative nature of NFT music drops, Snoop went on to note that his most recent album, BODR (Bacc on Death Row), made $21 million in the metaverse on its first day of release in February. Billboard previously reported that BODR was available in the form of 25,000 “Stash Box” NFTs containing one of 17 songs off the album — with each going for $5,000 apiece — in a partnership with blockchain gaming platform Gala Games (the album is also available on traditional streaming services). In March, the rapper also released put the compilation Death Row Mix: Vol. 1 up for sale in the form of 1,000 limited-edition NFTs priced at 0.1 ETH (about $300) each on the Web3 music startup Sound XYZ, which claimed the NFTs sold out in under an hour.
“In the real world, [BODR] streamed like 9 million over here, 7 million over here, and it only got like 34,000 downloads, which only added up to about nothing,” Snoop continued. “So how you think I feel about traditional, based off of what I did over here?”
Snoop Dogg has made previous forays into NFTs and the metaverse. In March 2021, the rapper announced he would be releasing his first NFT collection, “A Journey with the Dogg,” on Crypto.com. In September, he also claimed to be the user behind the Twitter account @CozomoMedici, which had garnered significant interest due to its owner’s well-documented speculation in the NFT space and ownership of hundreds of NFTs (though there is now substantial doubt surrounding @CozomoMedici’s true identity). Most recently, he announced a new partnership with Champ Medici and Clay Nation to launch an NFT collection on the cardano blockchain.
Snoop additionally owns virtual real estate in the Sandbox gaming metaverse, which dropped the Snoop Dogg-inspired NFT/playable avatar collection “The Doggies” last month. On April 1, Sandbox also hosted the release of the virtual music video for Snoop’s “House I Built” and will host his debut metaverse concert later in the year.
The Seattle Kraken NHL expansion team is adding some additional star power to their ownership group.
The Kraken announced Monday (April 18) that Grammy winner Macklemore and former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch are joining the minority investor group.
The two are taking small stakes in the franchise but bringing big ideas about community engagement and outreach to go along with their financial commitment. One of the original members of Seattle’s ownership group was Hollywood film maker Jerry Bruckheimer.
“I’d say that perhaps we didn’t need just two more investors. But these are investors who uniquely want to help us in the community and are excited about what we’re doing,” Kraken CEO Tod Leiweke told The Associated Press.
The franchise is in the final weeks of its inaugural season after paying a $650 million expansion fee to join the NHL.
Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, said part of his efforts will focus on the music community and curating partnerships between the team and young musicians to take advantage of smaller spaces at Climate Pledge Arena for performances on game nights.
From Harry Styles and Shania Twain to Anitta and Snoop Dogg to Justin Bieber – it all went down during the first weekend of Coachella 2022 and Billboard News is taking you inside the hottest music festival of the year.
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Fashion retailer Revolve teamed up with Los Angeles hospitality company The h.wood Group last weekend to bring some of today’s biggest stars to the desert for Coachella’s most coveted party.
Besides some star-studded performances — including a surprise appearance from Post Malone — guests were treated to some exclusive, immersive experiences that doubled as both a moment to try a new product or take a sweet Instagram photo.
Billboard was on-site at the big event, so see below for eight of our favorite Revolve Festival moments that made it the ultimate Coachella party. Shop the Revolve Festival Shop, curated with Zip here, until April 30.
Post Malone’s surprise performance
Posty made his way to the Revolve Festival stage on Saturday night (April 16) to surprise attendees with a hit-filled performance, including a pumped-up rendition of “Congratulations” alongside onstage guest Quavo.
“We’ve had a f—ing, hell of a f—ing ride and I just want everybody to know that I’m so grateful and so appreciative and so happy and I’m so f—ing blessed to be able to come up here and sing these f—ing songs with you guys,” Post Malone sweetly told the crowd, visibly emotional and happy. “The most important f—ing thing is to spread love wherever the f— you go. It takes a second out of your day, and it could change somebody’s life. Especially now, times are so f—ing dark. So much love to Ukraine, so much love to everybody struggling. So much love to everybody. COVID has taken such a toll on the f—ing world.”
Post Malone singing ‘Congratulations’ with Quavo at Revolve Festival pic.twitter.com/KuRYFQslse
— Post Malone News (@NewsPosty) April 17, 2022
Jack Harlow flying “First Class” onstage
Just a day before it was announced that he notched his first solo Billboard Hot 100 chart topper with “First Class,” Jack Harlow performed the catchy TikTok viral hit at Revolve Fest.
The best part, of course, was the crowd chanting along to the interpolation of Fergie’s 2007 two-week Hot 100 No. 1, “Glamorous.”
A whole café dedicated to K-pop
Spotify served as the exclusive streaming partner at the event, and in celebration of the streaming platform’s “K-Pop ON!” playlist, Revolve Festival’s Spotify K-Pop Café featured an interactive Blend-themed smoothie bar, and brought life to the fashion, beauty, food and, of course, music that Korean culture has contributed to the world.
The bar also served dalonga coffee, a whipped Korean coffee made with instant coffee, sugar, hot water and milk. The name “dalgona” comes from a Korean street snack which tastes honeycomb toffee (If you’ve seen Netflix’s Squid Game, dalgona is the candy used in the third episode’s challenge). The way dalgona is somewhat similar to the process of making whipped coffee, so a Korean TV personality named the coffee after that, according to My Korean Kitchen.
818 Tequila cocktails to beat the desert heat
Revolve Festival attendees got to choose between two specialty cocktails featuring Kendall Jenner’s 818 tequila — which served as the ultimate refreshment as La Quinta, Calif., temperatures reached nearly 95 degrees.
The “Palm Springs Paloma” featured a reviving mix of 818’s tequila blanco, fresh grapefruit juice, lime juice, hibiscus tea and agave syrup.
“Kenny’s Favorite Marg,” meanwhile, put a sweet twist on the classic margarita with 818 tequila reposado, orange liqueur, fresh lime juice, agave syrup and Tajin lining the rim for a bit of spice.
Shop 818 with one-hour delivery via Drizly here.
Willow bringing some pop-punk to Revolve Fest
Dressed in the ultimate cool-girl ‘fit, Willow rocked a black, cropped halter top and matching mini skirt, complete with fishnet stockings, yellow calf-high socks and Converse sneakers.
The 21-year-old took the stage as Sunday’s (April 17) special guest, and performed all her latest hits, proving once again that she’s the music star to watch in 2022.
WILLOW cantando “Gaslight” no Revolve Fest! 💛 • © leannetessa #Coachella pic.twitter.com/BZrQgsZr3Q
— Willow Smith Brasil (@willowsbra) April 18, 2022
La Croix’s cherry blossom themed booth
To highlight La Croix’s brand new cherry blossom flavor, the sparkling water company created a springtime photo booth just in time for cherry blossom season, complete with disco balls, balloons and, of course some ice-cold La Croix cans for taste testing and fun merch.
La Croix’s cherry blossom-flavored drink is currently in stock at Target, so make sure to order an eight-pack box for yourself here.
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“Special” wasn’t the only new song Lizzo debuted on SNL this weekend. With late-night comedy trio Please Don’t Destroy’s assistance, the singer overcame a bout of writer’s block and brought “Horny Zookeeper” to life.
In a writing night sketch, Saturday night’s (Feb. 16) host and musical guest sat down for a hilarious meeting with Ben Marshall, John Higgins and Martin Herlihy.
“I mean, two new songs?” she said with a laugh. “I don’t have those … I’m not joking.”
“I got writer’s block. Can you write me a new song? I’m gonna need you to write me a new song. New song now, b—-. Go,” demanded Lizzo.
“I need y’all to write a Black woman anthem,” she clarified, before everyone in the room realized that really wasn’t going to work out.
Lizzo was just about to give up when Please Don’t Destroy mentioned a sketch idea that inspired her to come up with some lyrics on the spot: “The bedroom is my petting zoo/ Said the bedroom is my petting zoo, little mama/ I got tiger claws, and you’re my llama llama/ Gonna set you on my lap like a duck, that’s the plan/ Then I make you eat a quarter with the seeds out the palm of my hand/ ‘Cause I’m a horny zookeeper/ You know that I’m a horny, horny, horny zookeeper.”
Watch her perform “Horny Zookeeper” below, and see the full episode on Hulu here. The streaming service is currently offering a 30-day free trial, which you can sign up for here.
