Wixen Music Publishing is suing short-form video-sharing app Triller for $50 million alleging copyright infringement on more than 1,000 songs.

Wixen claims that Triller has been “willfully infringing” its musical compositions by allowing its users to include them in videos without authorization or compensation, according to the 15-page federal complaint filed U.S. Central District of California Western Division on Tuesday.

Triller’s app, similar to TikTok’s, allows users to create and share short videos that typically include music. Wixen, who administers more than 50,000 songs written and owned by its more than 2,000 clients — Tom Petty, Neil Young and Missy Elliott among them — alleges that many of their compositions are being used in the app without the proper licenses.

Triller has “brazenly disregarded copyright law and committed willful and ongoing copyright infringement,” states the complaint. Triller is “well aware that it needs to negotiate licenses with Wixen and other publishers” to use those works, but has failed to do so, states the lawsuit.

The complaint continues: “Instead of paying Wixen and the songwriters Wixen represents to use their Works, Triller pays ‘social influencers’ substantial sums of money and provides them with Rolls Royces, mansions (with housekeeping), weekly sushi dinners at Nobu, and, in at least one instance, a helicopter.”

After David Israelite, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), a trade group to which Wixen belongs, criticized Triller in July about its need to legitimize fully license NMPA members’ songs, Wixen’s complaint says the company was initially encouraged when Triller’s CEO appeared to agree. But when no agreement was reached, Wixen filed this lawsuit.

“Triller could have reached out and negotiated with Wixen to obtain the necessary licenses, as its CEO promised,” states the complaint. “Instead, it chose to brazenly disregard copyright law and commit willful and ongoing copyright infringement. Among the evidence of Triller’s willfulness is that it continued to use, copy, and exploit the Works even after Wixen notified Triller that it had not obtained the proper licenses for the use of the Works.”

Triller’s CEO Mike Lu though firmly disputes those allegations calling Wixen “an ambulance chasing company set up purely to shake down people and companies” in a statement to Billboard.

“Triller has already pulled down the two songs in question which were put up by users, not Triller,” says Lu in the statement. “This is nothing but a baseless shakedown and it won’t work. We look forward to our day in court where hopefully we can stop them from doing this to others who may not have the resources to fight them and give in to their extortionist demands. Instead of taking the easy route and paying their extortion we are fighting this for all those who cannot afford to do so, to help stop these things from happening in our business. It ends here and stops now.”

Wixen is demanding a jury trial and seeking the maximum statutory relief it says it is entitled to of $150,000 per work infringed, for the sum of at least $50.4 million.

To date, Triller has raised $37.5 million, according to Crunchbase, including a $28 million series B round last year to fuel growth aimed at overtaking TikTok. Snoop Dogg, The Weekend, Marshmello and Lil Wayne are all promoted as investors, and it has licensing deals in place with the big three major labels, Universal Music Group, Sony Music and Warner Music Group. In early August the app reported 65 million monthly active users and then in September said it had reached the 100 million milestone — but that figure was contested by former employees, claiming the company had inflated its reach. It has also grown significantly in India, where TikTok and other Chinese-owned apps are banned.

In January 2018, Wixen filed a $1.6 billion lawsuit against Spotify ahead of the company’s initial public offering, alleging the use of tens of thousands of songs without a license and compensation. In December 2018, that lawsuit was privately settled.

The legacy of the late rock god Eddie Van Halen will be felt on Billboard’s charts next week, as “Distance,” a tribute song to him by his 29-year-old son Wolfgang Van Halen, is set to impact a number of tallies.

Billed as by Mammoth WVH, “Distance” was released on Nov. 16 and has sold 9,000 downloads in the U.S. through Nov. 17, according to initial sales reports to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The track could debut in the top five of the Rock Digital Song Sales chart (dated Nov. 28) and also bow on the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart (which blends sales, streams and airplay).

Eddie Van Halen died on Oct. 6 of cancer at age 65. Proceeds from “Distance” will be donated to The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, which Wolfgang tweeted was his father’s favorite charity. The song was written, performed and sung by Wolfgang. He wrote the track before Eddie passed away.

In a press statement, Wolfgang said “As my pop continued to struggle with various health issues, I was imagining what my life would be like without him and how terribly I’d miss him. While the song is incredibly personal, I think anyone can relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their life.” Wolfgang finished the song before Eddie’s death, and the track became a “favorite” of Eddie’s.

“Distance” is also garnering immediate airplay across mainstream rock radio. It could debut on next week’s Mainstream Rock Songs airplay chart after drawing spins on 30 reporting stations to the ranking in its first two days of release.

If “Distance” debuts on Mainstream Rock Songs, Wolfgang would continue the Van Halen legacy on the tally. The band Van Halen logged 47 hits on the list between 1981 (the year the chart launched) through 2012. Of those, Wolfgang played on two tracks, 2012’s “Tattoo” and “She’s the Woman,” both from the band’s last studio album, A Different Kind of Truth. (Van Halen also owns the third-most No. 1s on the Mainstream Rock Songs tally, with 13 chart-toppers.)

The Nov. 28-dated Billboard charts will reflect the sales and streaming tracking week ending Nov. 19, and the airplay tracking week ending Nov. 22. The charts are set to be revealed on Billboard’s websites on Tuesday, Nov. 24.

Step aside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Sheck Wes may be the NBA’s next MVP.

The 22-year-old rapper surprised fans on Instagram when he revealed that he has officially entered the NBA Draft, set for Wednesday night (Nov. 18). “Damn… it’s really real , The 2020 NBA DRAFT , all my life I always wanted to follow my passion for music and basketball,” he wrote alongside a series of photos flexing his athletic talent.

“Playing basketball and going to play pro in the @nba is something that I always strived for,” he continued. “Tonight that dream comes true! I want to thank the @nba for their hard work with the growing the game and every team that gave me an opportunity to work out and talk with them . I also want to thank my team and my fans for always being there ! TUNE IN TO THE 2020 NBA DRAFT tonight !!!!”

See his post here.

Sheck’s rap name and government name, Khadimou Rassoul Cheikh Fall, do not appear on the 100-person NBA prospect ranking list on CBS Sports at the time of publication.

Rap and basketball fans alike had mixed reactions to the star’s announcement. See below.

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade made history on Tuesday when Daniella Levine Cava is sworn in as mayor.

She’s the first female to hold the job in the county.

The afternoon ceremony was held at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and was not open to the public.

Levine Cava beat Commissioner Esteban Bovo for the job, garnering 54% of the vote. She replaces Carlos Gimenez who has been elected to Congress.

Moments after swearing-in, Levine Cava reminded the crowd why it’s tough for many families to celebrate.

“Nearly 4,000 Miami-Dade homes are missing a loved one tonight due to COVID-19,” she said.

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With the rising number of new COVID cases in the county, Levine Cava has appointed Dr. Peter Paige, who is the chief physician and Executive Vice President of Jackson Health System, as chief medical officer. He’ll help the county navigate a new normal through testing, tracing and guidelines.

“With this appointment, we will have a clear and open line of communication between our county and our healthcare system. Sharing information, pulling resources, and mobilizing a unified strategy,” Levine Cava said.

The current 2-week average positivity rate for new cases in Miami-Dade is 7.88%. Well above the recommended 5. So, her first act is announcing a new chief medical officer.

Levine Cava said the Response and Recovery Task Force will draft a roadmap to battle the public health and economic problem.

“The task force will be announced in the coming days. It will represent a cross section of our county so we can have one response that is guided by mutual respect and cooperation,” she said.

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She also plans to help struggling business because of the pandemic.

“We need to provide relief to our small business owners, hospitality sector and so many others to get our residents back to work and to get our economy back on its feet,” she said Tuesday. “As mayor, I will create programs to empower small and Black-owned businesses and reprioritize neighborhood investments so no community is left behind.”

Mayor Levine Cava admits COVID-19 has greatly impacted Black and Latino communities.

We are still working to learn how often this task force will meet and whether she plans to pressure Gov. DeSantis for more control over countywide restrictions.

Levine Cava doesn’t have an issue with current restrictions and emergency orders. However, she plans to review the orders and draft new ones along with the curfew.

“We will be balancing the health care issues with the economic ones. We know we need to continue our economy for so many reasons,” she said.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE (CBSMiami) – Miami-Dade police are investigating the deaths of two people at a home in Southwest Miami-Dade.

According to police, officers responded to a home in the 9300 block of SW 136 Street, right next to the Falls Shopping Center late Tuesday morning.

Investigators said the bodies, which have not been identified, were discovered by a cleaning crew visiting the house, which is used as a short-term rental.

Police said they do not know if those deceased are renters or if they are affiliated with the homeowner.

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However, neighbors in the area said they are not shocked.

“There was always parties being thrown. There are certain people types of people who live here. This is more of a family area,” said neighbor David Martinez. “We told them several times that we have a lot of complaints, so I am not shocked at all. So I am not shocked at all, we knew something was going to happen.”

The cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to come forward and call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.