Legendary singer-songwriter Randy Newman has sold his share of his recorded music and publishing rights to Litmus Music, a catalog-acquiring firm backed by private-equity giant Carlyle Group.

The deal encompasses Newman’s seminal film scores along with his catalog of popular solo hits. The rights acquisition includes his compositions for Disney franchises like Toy Story (“You’ve Got a Friend in Me,” “We Belong Together”), Monsters, Inc. (“If I Didn’t Have You”) and The Princess and the Frog (“Almost There”), among others.

The list of non-animated movies he has worked on over the decades includes The Natural, Three Amigos, Awakenings, The Paper, Maverick, Ragtime, Pleasantville, Meet the Parents, Seabiscuit and his recent pairing with director Noah Baumbach, for The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story.

The lifelong Angeleno launched his career in 1968 with a self-titled solo debut but came into his own in the following decade with a string of critically acclaimed albums including 1970’s mature 12 Songs, 1972’s lush Sail Away, 1974’s provacative Good Old Boys and 1977’s slick Little Criminals. His solo output slowed in the 1980se, but included 1983’s pop-leaning Trouble in Paradise and 1988’s rock-tinged Land of Dreams.

His catalog of solo hits, featuring that folksy, does-he-have-a-cold? warble, includes “I Love L.A.,” “Short People,” “It’s Money That Matters,” “Feels Like Home,” “Short People,” “Baltimore” and “It’s A Jungle Out There.” Many of his songs were picked up and made into hits by others as well, including “Mama Told Me Not To Come” (Three Dog Night) and “You Can Leave Your Hat On” (Joe Cocker).

Newman’s work ethic over the years has earned him seven Grammys, three Emmys, two Oscars, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inductions into the Songwriters and Rock & Roll Halls of Fame.

Litmus did not disclose financial terms of the acquisition. Launched in August 2022 with a $500-million-investment from Carlyle’s Global Credit Platform, Litmus has so far acquired publishing and recording rights of artists from a range of genres, including rights to Katy Perry’s first five studio albums for Capitol Records, Keith Urban‘s master recordings and a package of publishing and performance copyrights from producer Benny Blanco.

Dan McCarroll, co-founder of Litmus Music, expressed unbridled enthusiasm about the acquisition, calling Newman a “brilliant songwriter and performer” whose work transcends generations. Hank Forsyth, co-founder and CEO, thanked Newman for entrusting them with his songs, which “continue to transcend time and illuminate films. Alex Popov, head of private credit at Carlyle, emphasized the enduring presence of Newman’s music as a “staple of childhood memories and experiences for decades.”

On Thursday (Oct. 17) at the Amsterdam Dance Event, representatives from SoundCloud, along with Dutch producer Mau P, took part in a panel during which SoundCloud revealed that electronic music listeners are the most engaged demographic on the platform, among other insights.

This takeaway is based on data that found that electronic music fans over-index for all music activities on SoundCloud, company representatives said, adding that compared to fans of other genres, electronic music fans are 52% more likely to comment, 104% more likely to share music and 85% more likely to repost.

SoundCloud has long been a key hub for electronic music producers, offering a place where remixes and live sets, which aren’t available on many other DSPs, can live alongside new productions, creating a catalog that’s unique to the platform. The way SoundCloud allows for direct artist-to-fan communication has also helped foster the kind of superfans the general industry has become increasingly interested in finding and cultivating. As Jack Bridges of SoundCloud said during a panel this past April, “A lot more artists and labels go to SoundCloud early… and build records from nothing and by artists messaging their fans directly because we have the tools to do that.”

The platform is becoming increasingly popular among producers. The company reports that the platform is seeing increased uploads of electronic music, with those uploads projected to rise by approximately 21% in 2024 compared to last year. Plays of electronic music genres on the platform have also grown, by roughly 6% since 2022, with electronic music expected to account for nearly 22% of all plays on the platform this year.

And while electronic music is a truly global genre, some areas naturally over-index, with SoundCloud finding that Vietnam has the third largest electronic listener base. Elsewhere, Central and Northern Europe have the most consistent and engaged SoundCloud electronic listeners, while Belgium, Austria and Germany are among the top countries where electronic music is the platform’s most-streamed genre.

In terms of subgenres, house music gets the most SoundCloud plays, listening time and listeners. Hardcore is second in plays and listening time, while trance is second in the number of listeners and third in plays and listening time. SoundCloud reports that trance is also the fastest-growing genre, with a 24% increase in listening time and an 11% rise in listeners since 2023.

From serenading celebrities with surprise cover songs to releasing his own original music, Harry Daniels delivered his debut single “I’m Him” first thing Thursday (Oct. 17).

The electro-pop song, which made its radio debut on New York’s Z100 first thing Thursday, was inspired by Daniels’ rise to fame as a viral star on TikTok, where he boasts 1.6 million followers and has scored more than 1 billion views with his “Can I sing for you?” videos. (Daniels even references his TikTok claim to fame on the new song by quite literally crooning “Can I sing for you?” in the lyrics of “I’m Him.”)

“I wanted to talk about my new experiences and how all the rapid growth has made me feel in relation to what I aspired to be growing up, sort of my ‘When I Grow Up’ by The Pussycat Dolls moment,” Daniels exclusively tells Billboard of his first song.

Since joining the video-sharing app in 2022, Daniels has performed pop-up covers for unsuspecting pop stars like Katy Perry, Doja Cat, Sabrina Carpenter, Christina Aguilera, SZA, Camila Cabello, Dua Lipa and more, as well as for current presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and Presidents Obama and Biden.

Now, Daniels is turning the focus to his own music career. He designed the “I’m Him” single cover art himself and will perform his debut single for the first time at iHeart’s Dunkin’ Music Lounge in New York on Friday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Daniels says he’s currently working on new music and will release more singles in 2025. Listen to Harry Daniels’ debut single “I’m Him” below.

The X Factor has paid tribute to One Direction member Liam Payne following his death yesterday (October 16). The 31 year-old died in a fall in a hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The British group formed in 2010 during their appearance on U.K. version of The X Factor‘s seventh series. During their six-year career, the group went on to have four No.1 albums on the Billboard 200 and six top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

A post on the TV show’s official social media said: “We are heartbroken by the sad passing of Liam Payne. He was immensely talented and, as part of One Direction, Liam will leave a lasting legacy on the music industry and fans around the world. Our thoughts are with his friends, family and all who loved him.”

One Direction went on an indefinite hiatus in 2016 and the five former members – Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson – have all embarked on solo careers in the years since.

According to local police, Payne died after falling from a third-floor hotel room in Buenos Aires. Prior to his death, the police received a call from the hotel following reports “of an aggressive man who may have been under the effects of drugs and alcohol”.

The city’s emergency medical services director Alberto Crescenti told local media that Payne had suffered “serious injuries” from his fall, but declined to answer any additional questions in readers to Payne’s fall.

Payne had released one solo album, LP1, in 2019 and said that work had begun on a follow-up. He is survived by one child, Bear, who he shared with former partner Girls Alouds’ Cheryl Cole.

Hip-hop legends N.O.R.E. (who rose to fame with duo Capone-N-Noreaga) and Fat Joe teamed up for a riveting conversation about the intersection of Latin and hip-hop during the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week.

The chat, moderated by Jesús Triviño, senior director of industry relations and global Latin culture and content, TIDAL, centered on the similarities between reggaetón and hip-hop and their role in taking the genre to mainstream in the United States.

Below, some of the best quotes from The Intersection of Latin and Hip-Hop panel:

N.O.R.E.: On when he first heard reggaetón. “I was in Puerto Rico and I had a party that I thought I sold out but it was Tego Calderon’s show and he didn’t show up. I heard reggaetón and was like what is that it? It sounded like ‘boom boom mami mami.’ I was like is that Spanish reggae? Everywhere in Puerto Rico they were playing it. Radios in New York weren’t playing it so I was like how do I change this? So I kept asking DJs to play it [on the radio]. I thought the was best way to help this music was to sacrifice myself.”

FAT JOE: His interaction with El General. “Vico C he wasn’t reggaetón, he was hip-hop and because of him I heard El General from Panama. I tried to charge El General once for [something] and he cursed me out. It was through him that I first heard reggaetón, then Puerto Rico had its explosion and the guys who paved the way were Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Tego, Ivy Queen, Wisin y Yandel.”

FAT JOE: On similarities between reggaetón and hip-hop. “Hip-hop is the birth of everything. If you want to learn something here is that hip-hop started everything. A lot of the things that you see in reggaetón and Latin hip-hop we’ve seen it already, from fashion to flows, right now it’s latin trap and trap comes from Atlanta, hip-hop and reggaetón they’re side by side.”

N.O.R.E.: On the impact of “Oye Mi Canto.” “Never in a million years people would get behind that. When you listen to that track, you become Latino for three minutes. Label records didn’t want to get behind that record but they did when it got 500 spins. I can say that the first reggaetón on MTV was mine. First reggaetón track on BET was mine. Daddy Yankee left ‘Oye Mi Canto’ out of a documentary he just released and I don’t know why. I sacrificed my own community for it.”

Fat Joe: On recording to reggaetón. “They used to offer me millions of dollars to do reggaetón but I was hip-hop, I couldn’t do that because it would seem like I was a wannabe. But I’ll do whatever for him (N.O.R.E.). I was like, ‘You sure you wanna do reggaetón?’ And he was like, ‘I love the way they feel, it makes me feel more of my Latino side.’ I was like alright I’m with you. And he was legendary. I always worked with reggaetón artists. I was behind this mixtape called Boricua Guerrero but some people say, ‘Oh Fat Joe didn’t embrace reggaetón’ when I put the reggaetón guys on that mixtape. We’ve been embracing reggaetón since day one.”

N.O.R.E: On his place in history when it comes to reggaetón. “When I started doing reggaetón, I had to fly out to these artists and it was a great experience. Back then R. Kelly was doing a gospel album and I thought, maybe it’s my turn to test my creativity. I claim it was my doing when reggaetón came to America.”

The 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. It will simultaneously be available on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app, and in Latin America and the Caribbean through Telemundo Internacional.