Paul McCartney has paid tribute to the late Brian Wilson, 82, whose death was announced on Wednesday (June 11), calling his songs “achingly special” and that “I loved him.”

Yesterday, news broke that the Beach Boys leader had died, but a cause and date of death has not yet been announced. A post on Wilson’s official Instagram account wrote, “We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world.” 

Tributes have been shared by a number of musical greats who were inspired by Wilson’s songwriting genius, including Bob Dylan, Elton John, Questlove and more.

On his Instagram account on Thursday (June 12), McCartney wrote, “Brian had that mysterious sense of musical genius that made his songs so achingly special. The notes he heard in his head and passed to us were simple and brilliant at the same time.”

He added, “I loved him, and was privileged to be around his bright shining light for a little while. How we will continue without Brian Wilson, ‘God Only Knows’. Thank you, Brian. – Paul.”

Wilson’s work on the seminal LP Pet Sounds (1966) was hugely influential on McCartney and The Beatles’ subsequent studio albums, particularly Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967). McCartney cited “God Only Knows” as one of “the best songs ever written” and in 2000, inducted Wilson into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Speaking during the ceremony, McCartney declared his admiration for Wilson’s work. “In the ’60s, particularly, he wrote some music that when I played it, it made me cry and I don’t quite know why. It wasn’t necessarily the words or the music, it’s just something so deep in it, that there’s only certain pieces of music that can do this to me… I think it’s a sign of great genius to be able to do that with a bunch of music and a bunch of notes. And this man, he deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, that’s for sure.

He added, “So thank you, sir, for making me cry. For having that thing you can do with your music – you just put those notes, those harmonies together, stick a couple of words over the top and you’ve got me, any day.”

Following the release of Pet Sounds, Wilson was increasingly impacted by mental health struggles and he was eventually diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. In February 2024, it was announced that he was diagnosed with dementia. Wilson is survived by his daughters Carnie and Wendy from his 1964 marriage to Marilyn Rovell, as well as his five adopted children with his wife Melinda Ledbetter, who passed in early 2024. Read Billboard’s full obituary here.

Jen Majura, a seasoned guitarist who has performed with bands such as Equilibrium, Knorkator and Evanescence, has announced her decision to “step away” from the music industry.

Majura’s plans were shared on her Instagram account on Tuesday (June 10), explaining that she had come to the decision after “careful consideration, observing what‘s going on in the music industry, AI related developments and change in society.”

“Instead of wasting another year of my life constantly hoping for new energy, drive and creativity, I‘ve reached a point in my life where I can confidentially lean back in peace,” she wrote. “While time allowed me, I was able to collect an amazing amount of beautiful experiences, tours, shows, travels and moments! I am grateful for every bit of that, but the world has changed. I can confidently make up my mind to stop.

“I am not saying that I will never create any music again, whether recorded or live – but for now I feel there are healthier and better things to fill my life with good vibes and not deal with the overwhelming amount of ridiculousness that comes with the music industry now days. I just can’t identify with today‘s attitude and values anymore.”

As Majura continued she shared her well wishes to “all the ambitious and remaining ‘creators’, young and old,” before offering four singles to her fans as something of a parting gift.

“As a final musical endeavor I wanna share 4 tracks with you,” she wrote. “Songs that were written over a decade ago together with the great guitarist Dennis Hormes. I found these old demo recordings while cleaning out stuff from my computer and thought they are too good to not be shared.”

A musician from an early age, Majura has performed professionally since 2000, with work as a guitarist and bassist in bands such as Equilibrium, Knorkator and Black Thunder Ladies, and a handful of solo albums to her name.

Majura came to widespread attention in 2015 when she took over from Terry Balsamo as the lead guitarist of Arkansas rockers Evanescence. Performing on the band’s most recent two albums (2017’s Synthesis and 2021’s The Bitter Truth), Majura’s exit from the band was announced in May 2022.

“It has been a very special chapter in the band with our dear friend Jen Majura, but we have decided it’s time to go our separate ways,” the group said at the time. “We will always love her and support her, and can’t wait to see what she does next! We are so grateful for the good times and great music we made all around the world together.”

Following her departure from Evanescence, Majura co-founded “crossover metal band” How We End, and also performed vocals on the track “Deep Inside,” from former Dream Theater drummer Mike Mangini’s Invisible Signs albums.

Douglas McCarthy, the co-founding vocalist of English industrial dance outfit Nitzer Ebb, has passed away at the age of 58.

McCarthy’s death was confirmed by Nitzer Ebb’s official social media account on Tuesday (June 11). “It is with a heavy heart that we regret to inform that Douglas McCarthy passed away this morning of June 11th, 2025,” a post read.

“We ask everyone to please be respectful of Douglas, his wife, and family in this difficult time,” it added. “We appreciate your understanding and will share more information soon.”

McCarthy co-founded Nitzer Ebb in 1982 alongside school friends Vaughan ‘Bon’ Harris and David Gooday, with the group taking inspiration from the post-punk genre for their early single releases. That sound soon evolved with more industrial and electronic influences, with the band quickly becoming regarded as noted figures within the ‘electronic body music’ scene – a genre that combined elements of industrial and punk with dance music.

The group’s debut album, That Total Age, would be issued in May 1987, and though avoiding chart success, the single “Join the Chant” would reach No. 9 on the Dance Club Songs charts. 

Nitzer Ebb would remain a fixture of the chart in the coming years, with singles such as “Control I’m Here,” “Lightning Man,” and “Fun to Be Had” all appearing therein, with the latter giving the band their highest peak when it reached No. 5 in 1990. They would also impact the Alternative Airplay charts, with 1991’s “Family Man” giving them a career high when it reached No. 21.

While 1991’s Ebbhead would be their only record to reach the Billboard 200 (peaking at No. 146), their follow-up, 1995’s Big Hit, would be the band’s last for 15 years, with Nitzer Ebb splitting soon after its release.

McCarthy would contribute to Recol, the solo project of Depeche Mode’s Alan Wilder throughout the ’90s, and later collaborate with French producer Terence Fixmer as one half of Fixmer/McCarthy. Nitzer Ebb would reform in 2006 and release their final album, Industrial Complex, in 2010. In 2013, McCarthy would release his only solo album, Kill Your Friends.

In recent years, McCarthy had suffered from noted ill health, with Harris taking over vocals for a series of 2021 performances after McCarthy collapsed before a show due to a “pre-existing” medical condition. In early 2024, McCarthy announced he would no longer be performing live after being diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.

U.S. music publishing revenue rose 17% to $7.04 billion in 2024, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) revealed at its annual meeting on Wednesday (June 11). Last year, the trade organization reported total revenue at $6.2 billion, which was up 10.71% from the previous year.

The event, held at Alice Tulley Hall at New York’s Lincoln Center, is considered a state-of-the-union for U.S. music publishers, and this year, its CEO/president, David Israelite, and general counsel, Danielle Aguirre, focused their presentation on both celebrating hitmakers — like award recipients Kacey Musgraves, Rhett Akins, Gracie Abrams and Aaron Dessner — and on talking about ways to grow revenue even more.

There was also a strong focus on calling on the industry, from executives to songwriters and artists, to stand together. As Israelite said, “We should all stand behind [songwriters]…There has never been a greater need to stand up for the value of songwriters.”

Aguirre and Israelite pointed to three key battlegrounds where remuneration can improve if the industry sticks together: general licensing (licensing for bars, restaurants, venues, etc.); social media; and interactive streaming. As Aguirre noted, 72% of publishing income is under “burdensome regulations” in the U.S. — whether by consent decree or compulsory license — but there are still ways to improve that within the current system.

Interactive Streaming

For interactive streaming, Aguirre reminded the crowd that Phonorecords V proceedings at the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which will determine the rate that songwriters and publishers will be paid for U.S. mechanical royalties from 2028-2032, are “fast approaching” in the next six months.

“One of the biggest challenges [for interactive streaming income] continues to come from Spotify’s mischaracterization of its music service into bundles, which forced the conversion of over 44 million subscribers into bundled platforms that those subscribers did not request,” Aguirre said. (Earlier this year, the Mechanical Licensing Collective’s lawsuit against Spotify, which claimed the company’s bundling of premium tiers and resultant cutting of payments to songwriters and publishers was unlawful, was dismissed by a judge who said the rules were “unambiguous.” However, the NMPA continues to attack the platform through various means, including sending mass takedown notices for podcasts and videos on Spotify that do not properly license music.)

Aguirre revealed that in the first year of Spotify’s new bundling change alone, publishers and writers have lost over “$230 million…and these losses will continue if we can’t reverse or correct Spotify actions,” she said. “In fact, if we don’t stop them, we are projected to lose over $3.1 billion through the next CRB period [which ends in 2032].”

Perhaps taking a cue from Spotify, Amazon has also bundled its music service with other offerings, allowing it to cut royalty rates for songwriters and publishers in the U.S. — another change Aguirre hit on in her remarks. “In just the last three months, we’ve seen a 40% decrease in music revenue from Amazon, which has hit the PROs particularly hard,” she said. Notably, the NMPA had a much more hopeful outlook on the Amazon bundle when it was announced; at the time, the organization released a statement saying it was “optimistic” about Amazon’s new offering and had “engaged” with the company in a “respectful and productive way” to find a compensation model for publishers that “will not decrease revenue for songwriters.”

Social Media

Social media is one of the rare areas of publishing where publishers and songwriters can negotiate without any government interference — and the NMPA is hopeful about capitalizing on that. To date, the income stream is still small: Aguirre reported that social sites like TikTok, Instagram, X and others only make up 2% of income for publishers in the U.S.

However, Israelite believes songwriters have the power to say no to this level of compensation and force the companies to treat them better.

“It’s important for songwriters to understand they already have the power to strike,” he said, despite the fact that songwriters do not qualify for a traditional union. “They do so when the people they entrust to license their songs, the music publishers and collecting societies, say no. There are key industries, such as social media, user-generated content, artificial intelligence training and lyric rights, where songwriters have the power to say no. But too often, when a music publisher or a PRO stands up to licensees who don’t want to pay fair rates, we run into a unique problem that plagues the songwriting industry: Songwriters don’t stick together. This is a tough conversation.”

Case in point: Just last year, Universal Music Group removed its catalog from TikTok in an effort to fight for its “fair value.” However, as Billboard reported at the time, a number of artists, including Ariana Grande, Beyonce and Olivia Rodrigo, found ways around the ban to continue using the platform for marketing purposes.

General Licensing

The final area of focus the NMPA addressed at the meeting was general licensing, or the performance license required to play music in public spaces like restaurants, bars, venues and clubs. While Aguirre noted that this only made up for 5% of total revenue last year, she said that “there is a substantial opportunity for growth.”

“One concern is the lack of licensing from many of these venues. For the first time, we have insight into just how much money is being lost to unlicensed mid-sized venues,” said Aguirre. In a recent study, she said the NMPA found that 80% of “venues that have 50 or fewer locations but are large enough to require performance licenses…misuse consumer streaming services to provide that music.” Others, she added, are using business-to-business (B2B) music services that “are not obtaining all of the necessary rights for the services that they are offering. Some provide features like offline listening, interactive music experiences and on-demand streaming without securing appropriate mechanical licenses.”

To remedy this issue, the NMPA announced it’s sending six cease and desist letters to B2B music services that are allegedly not properly paying for music. The organization did not specify the names of these B2B vendors.

The NMPA’s attack on B2B music suppliers comes on the heels of the U.S. Copyright Office’s Notice of Inquiry regarding U.S. PROs, wrapping up its first comment period. While bars, restaurants, clubs and other public spaces license music from PROs to use in their venues, some recently complained about the PROs’ alleged “lack of transparency” and the fact that there’s been a so-called “proliferation” of new PROs in the market, complicating (and perhaps increasing the cost of) the licensing process. While most countries have just one, maybe two, PRO options for writers and publishers to join, the U.S. now has six: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, GMR, AllTrack and PMR.

Overall Breakdown of Publishing Income Streams

As reported by the NMPA, the breakdown of income streams for U.S. publishers and songwriters is as follows:

Songwriters

It wasn’t all just business talk — this year’s meeting also celebrated songwriters. The honorees included Musgraves, who received the Songwriter Icon Award accompanied by a tribute from her friend, Leon Bridges, who performed the Musgraves-written song “Lonely Millionaire.” Musgraves also took the stage to perform “Architect” from her latest album, Deeper Well.

Akins received the Non-Performing Songwriter award this year, and the ceremony featured a special tribute from his son, country artist Thomas Rhett, who performed “I Lived It” (released by Blake Shelton) and “What’s Your Country Song,” which he wrote with his father.

Lastly, the NMPA showcased the winners of the Billboard Songwriter Awards. Those honors were originally set to be handed out at a separate NMPA/Billboard Grammy week event that was canceled due to the Los Angeles wildfires and rescheduled for the NMPA’s annual meeting. Abrams and Dessner, who received Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year and the Triple Threat Award, respectively, took the stage on Wednesday to perform “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” which they wrote together.