Sony Music pulled its catalog from the streaming service Boomplay on Monday (Dec. 9) due to late royalty payments, Billboard has confirmed.

Several other prominent labels and distributors also confirmed to Billboard on Monday that they have not received recent royalty payments from the service. Additionally, a monthly payment report published by the distributor Symphonic on Dec. 2 notes that payments from Boomplay are excluded from April 2023 to September 2024 “due to delays in receiving the statements and/or payments from these partners.”

Sony’s move was first reported by Pulse NG. A rep for Sony Music declined to comment. A rep for Boomplay did not respond to a request for comment.

In 2019, Boomplay announced that it had raised $20 million in Series A funding with the goal of becoming “the number one player in the whole music ecosystem for African music,” according to CEO Joe He.

“The African music industry is not like in America or Europe where there is one big label who takes care of thousands of artists,” Phil Choi, Boomplay’s head of international acquisitions and partnerships, said at the time. “At the moment, there are a lot of musicians that work independently or with small labels, so it takes time to build a catalog.”

Boomplay reached its first licensing agreement with Universal Music Group in 2018. It subsequently signed deals with Sony Music and Warner Music Group the following year and forged an agreement with the independent label organization Merlin in 2021. Boomplay announced that its streams counted towards Billboard‘s charts in October 2021.

He, Boomplay’s CEO, told Billboard in 2020 that he believed the service could grow its user base in Africa to 350 million. “It’s a huge market,” he said at the time. In September 2023, the platform said it had 98 million monthly active users on the continent.

Boomplay isn’t the first streaming service to struggle with timely royalty payments in recent years. When TIDAL was sued in 2021, the complaint revealed that the platform had $127 million in liabilities, mostly in the form of unpaid streaming fees to record labels. TIDAL CEO Jesse Dorogusker told Billboard last year that the payment situation had been remedied.

Shakedown Street wound its way to the nation’s capital on Sunday (Dec. 8) as counterculture mingled with high arts culture at the 47th Kennedy Center Honors, where legendary rockers the Grateful Dead; blues rock songstress and guitarist Bonnie Raitt; acclaimed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; and jazz trumpeter, pianist and composer Arturo Sandoval were inducted.

In a first, the Honors this year inducted a venue, Harlem’s fabled The Apollo, in celebration of nine decades of the theater championing Black artists and culture.

The gala continues to elevate its unique mashup of celebrities, politicians and arts patrons—fun fact: former speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi is still in possession of a button from a late-‘80s Dead show—and the outgoing Administration was out in full force. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff received extended applause.

Musical star power included Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crowe, Maggie Rogers, Dave Matthews, Queen Latifah, Leon Bridges, James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks, Don Was, Sturgill Simpson, The War and Treaty, Jackson Browne, Trombone Shorty, Doug E Fresh, Raye, Grace VanderWaal and Keb Mo.

Non-musical talent was equally sparkling. Robert DeNiro, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Al Pacino and Laurence Fishburne were among those who feted Coppola, while Letterman, Miles Teller and Chloe Sevingy shared their personal connections to the Dead. Julia Louis Dreyfus celebrated Raitt, and Dave Chappelle paid hilarious homage to The Apollo.

Bonnie Raitt
Winner of 13 Grammys, including a best song award in 2023 when her soul-stirring “And Just Like That” beat out songs by Beyonce and Harry Styles among others, Raitt was lauded as much for her activism as for her vocals and killer moves on the slide guitar.

“As you get older you reflect on how you got where you got and that’s not just in your career but life, and I attribute a lot to Bonnie,” Crow shared with Billboard before the show.

She recounted seeing Raitt perform for the first time and buying her first guitar the next day. “When you’re a 17-year-old girl and you play piano, and you go see Bonnie Raitt and she’s ripping and she’s fronting a guy band and she’s singing truth… I would never have picked up a guitar or seen myself being out front had it not been for her,” Crow said.

Raitt’s work in social justice has been a north star for Carlile, among so many others. “I’ve lucky enough to get talk to Bonnie for hours and hours about activism and the ways we get to carry ourselves as musicians and artists,” she said on the red carpet.

“I was maybe 17 years old at a Bonnie Raitt concert when a ‘No Nukes’ guitar pick landed on the toe of my shoe, and I picked that up and I found out what she meant by that. I carry all of her messages forward. The work she’s done for indigenous people, for women’s rights… she’s so outspoken and so musically powerful. Everything she says is backed by a thunderstorm of conviction.”

On stage and accompanied on piano by Crow, Carlile delivered an earnest rendition of “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” while Emmylou Harris and Dave Mathews stirred the heartstrings with their take on “Angel From Montgomery,” on which Raitt famously dueted with songwriter John Prine. Julia Louis Dreyfus praised Raitt’s authenticity, noting: “You know it’s Bonnie. It’s all red hair and no bullshit.” Jackson Browne, who noted his friend of 50 years “never stopped growing and expanding herself and her impulses as an artist,” before joining Crow, James Taylor and Arnold McCuller to croon “Nick of Time,” the title track from Raitt’s 1990 album that took home a Grammy album of the year.

Arturo Sandoval
Sandoval, renowned for blending Afro-Cuban jazz, bebop and straight-ahead jazz, performed in 1990 at the Honors tribute to his mentor Dizzy Gillespie. He embraced his turn in the spotlight by treating his fellow honorees and other guests at the White House dinner the evening before the gala with a spicy rendition of “God Bless America.” And well-wishers including Andy Garcia, Debbie Allen, Chris Botti and Cimafunk returned the favor on stage.

Fellow Cuban-born Garcia, who played Sandoval in the 2000 docudrama “For Love or Country,” peppered Sandoval’s string of accomplishments—winning four Grammys, five Latin Grammys and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, among them—with personal narratives: “He let me play in his band, but only if I brought the sandwiches.”

Allen described her relationship with Sandoval as a “lifelong creative marriage” that began at the Kennedy Center in 1996, and Botti described Sandoval as “the trumpet master” before he put his own trumpet stylings to a stirring version of Charlie Chaplin’s “Smile.”

The Apollo
The Apollo served as the launching pad for artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross and Lauryn Hill, and Queen Latifah brought the audience through its decades of evolution.

Husband and wife duo The War and Treaty performed a gorgeous medley of hits by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, while Savion Glover performed a high-spirited tap dance routine.

Comedian Chappelle recounted his first, horrifying experience performing at Amateur Night after winning a contest when he was just 15. “Everybody started booing. It was like I was outside my body watching,” he said, before waxing sincere. “My favorite part of freedom is art. The Apollo theater is a church where we could talk like ourselves, to ourselves.”

Francis Ford Coppola
Coppola’s segment was, in a word, legendary. The tribute to the five-time Oscar winner, whose anthology includes The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, American Graffiti and Patton, brought out Hollywood heavy-hitters Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Laurence Fishburne.

His sister Talia Shire, nephew Jason Schwartzman and granddaughter Gia Coppola also shared tributes and Grace VanderWaal, who appears in Coppola’s new film Megalopolis, performed a raspy, rousing version of “The Impossible Dream.”

Pacino mixed heart and humor, noting Coppola continues to break the cardinal rule in Hollywood: never invest in your own films. “For Apocalypse Now, he put up his house, with his wife an three kids in it. I know, I was there,” he quipped.

Noting without Coppola he wouldn’t have his career, DeNiro—whom the filmmaker cast in “The Godfather: Part II”—said, “And it’s not just me. Francis generously brings all of us into his family, into his world, into his dreams. And what dreams they are. Beautiful. Epic. Impossible.”

After sharing a few funny anecdotes, Scorsese compared his friend to visionary early pioneers of cinema because “he reinvents, he has the same spirit they had and constantly, time and time again, film after film and decade after decade, he reinvents, always expanding into new territory.”

The Grateful Dead
At 60 years and still truckin’, the Grateful Dead—whose original members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann and Bobby Weir were in attendance—is mythological in its organic cultivation of community and the live show experience.

“The Grateful Dead was a dance band, and people like to dance and in those days there weren’t a lot of people dancing so that’s where the community started and the music just moved from there,” Hart told Billboard. “And we grew with the music.”

Weir broke it down like this: “We had no plan, we had no itinerary. We were just playing; that’s all we’ve ever done. Our entire agenda has been, Let’s make some more music.”

Pre-show, Maggie Rogers shared how her stint playing with Dead & Company in 2019 at Madison Square Garden completely changed her touring routine. “Before, I was playing basically the same set every night—and there’s a beautiful meditation in that repetition—but since then, I have my whole catalog on fridge magnets on the bus and we’re constituting a new set list every night. They showed me what it’s like to relax into the continence of your own musicianship.”

The presence of guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Jerry Garcia, who died in 1995, and bass player Phil Lesh, who died in October, was palpable throughout the evening. Lesh’s son Graham said pre-show his father had been excited when he learned about the band’s induction and “it was a great chance for the band to connect and revel in how much of an honor this was. It’s kind-of a big wow, what they accomplished.”

Graham Lesh was part of a stellar jam band that also included Don Was and Sturgill Simpson, backing four tunes that got some in the house up on their feet. Rogers and Leon Bridges dueted on “Fire on the Mountain,” Simpson sung “Ripple,” Matthews and Tedeschi grooved through “Sugaree,” and then all came together for show closer “Not Fade Away,” a nod to the band’s use of the Buddy Holly paean to enduring love to wrap countless shows.

Done+Dusted returned for a third year as executive producer, in association with ROK Productions. The special will air on Dec. 22 on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

Quavo has been honored as the ‘Humanitarian of the Year’ at the eighth annual Variety Hitmakers Brunch, held on Dec. 7 at Nya Studios in Hollywood.

The accolade recognized the GRAMMY-nominated rapper and philanthropist’s transformative advocacy against gun violence, a mission he embraced following the tragic 2022 loss of his nephew and fellow Migos member, Takeoff.

The award was presented by Greg Jackson, Deputy Director of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, who praised Quavo’s tireless efforts to combat the epidemic through his Rocket Foundation. Launched in November 2022 in Takeoff’s honor, the foundation supports community-based programs addressing gun violence and has grown into a powerful movement for change in just two years.

Quavo’s work has impacted communities at both local and federal levels. In March, the Rocket Foundation introduced Sparks Grants, distributing $10,000 each to 10 Atlanta organizations dedicated to creating safer neighborhoods. Over the summer, Quavo partnered with the Offender Alumni Association to host a music education workshop for at-risk youth as part of the Rocket Camp initiative.

On the national stage, Quavo’s advocacy contributed to the establishment of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

He met with Vice President Kamala Harris during the Congressional Black Caucus legislative conference in September 2023 and hosted the inaugural Rocket Foundation Summit on Gun Violence Prevention in Atlanta earlier this year. Quavo also joined Harris at a rally to promote the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, one of the most comprehensive federal gun control laws in U.S. history.

The Rocket Foundation partners with organizations like the Offender Alumni Association, H.O.P.E. Hustlers, Community Justice Action Fund, and LIVE FREE to address gun violence through community-driven solutions.

Beyond his advocacy, Quavo remains a prominent figure in music and entertainment. As a key member of Migos, he achieved multiple No. 1 hits on the Billboard charts and collaborated with top-tier artists like Justin Bieber, Travis Scott, and Post Malone.

His recent solo ventures include tracks with Lana Del Rey, Peso Pluma, and Lenny Kravitz, showcasing his ability to blend genres while staying true to his Atlanta roots. Quavo’s versatility also extends to acting, with appearances in Atlanta, Black-ish, and films like Praise This.

The culture-affecting Charli XCX has revealed her fondness for the culture-defining Velvet Underground, praising their 1967 debut at Variety’s Hitmakers Awards.

Appearing at the Awards on Saturday (Dec. 7), Charli XCX was on hand to receive the Hitmaker of the Year honor, predominantly thanks to the massive global success of her Brat album throughout 2024. However, in her own acceptance speech, Charli XCX explained that that the very definition of what is a “hit” is up for debate. To underline her point, she deferred to some remarks she had written about The Velvet Underground’s iconic debut album.

“In March 1967, The Velvet Underground released their album The Velvet Underground & Nico,” she began. “It debuted on the Billboard 200 at Number 199. And a few weeks later, it rose to its peak position of 195. But don’t worry, it dropped out, but then it re-entered the charts. And later in life, Lou Reed told Brian Eno that it had only sold around 30,000 copies over its first five years.”

“In my humble opinion, this record is the definition of a hit. This record is arguably one of the most influential and groundbreaking records of our time,” she added. “This album is the apex of fine art and DIY culture colliding. It’s high and low, it’s poetry meets drugs, it’s earnest meets arrogance, and even if you’re never heard a single song from this album, you’ll undoubtedly recognize its cover, either from the walls of a modern art gallery or from the shop floor of an Urban Outfitters.”

“And let’s be real, what is a hit if you’re not conquering both of those places?” she asked. “My album cover has not yet appeared at the Guggenheim or the Whitney or the Tate. However, some of my merch is available to purchase right now in Urban Outfitters. So I guess that means that I’m halfway there.”

While Charli XCX is correct that The Velvet Underground & Nico peaked at No. 195 upon its initial release, it re-entered the charts later in 1967, ultimately peaking at No. 171. In 2013, the record would reach its highest peak to date with No. 129.

Likewise, the famous quote about the record only selling 30,000 copies in its first five years has been up for debate as well. Eno’s full quote adds that despite the sales figure, “everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band”. However, later investigations have seen more than 58,000 copies had been sold by February 1969, with as many as 200,000 copies being sold by 1971. For comparison, in June, Charli XCX’s Brat debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with a total of 40,000 album sales.